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LIFE 



TECUMSEH 



AKB OF HIS BROTHEU 



HE PROPHET; 



HISTORICAL SKETCH 



OF THE 



HAWANOE INDIANS 



BY BENJAMIN DRAKE, 

•HOR OF **THE LIFE OF BLACK HAWK," "TALES FROM THE 
aUEEN CITT," &C. &C. 



C I N C I N N A 1^ 1 ; 

UBLISHED BY H. S. & J. APPLEGATE & CO., 

NO. 43 MAIN STREET, 

1862. 



f-99 



Sj3,tTT^ 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1841, 

BY BENJAMIN DRAKE, 

In the Clerk's Office for the District Court of Ohio. 



Stereotyped by J. A. James. 
Ciacianati. 



PREFACE 



Many years have elapsed since the author of this volume 
determined to write the life of Tecumseh and of his brother 
the Prophet, and actually commenced the collection of the 
materials for its accomplishment. From various causes, the 
completion of the task has been postponed until the present 
time. This delay, however, has probably proved beneficial 
to the work, as many interesting incidents in the lives of 
these individuals are now embraced in its pages, which could 
not have been in-cluded had it been put to press at an earlier 
period. 

In the preparation of this volume, the author's attention 
was drawn, to some extent, to the history of the Shawanoe 
tribe of Indians : and he has accordingly prefixed to the main 
work, a brief historical narrative of this wandering and 
warlike nation, with biographical sketches of several of its 
most distinguished chiefs. 

The author is under lasting obligations to a number of 
gentlemen residing in difierent sections of the country, for 
the substantial assistance which they have kindly afforded 
him in the collection of the matter embraced in this volume. 
Other sources of information have not, however, been ne- 
glected. All the histories, magazines and journals within 
the reach of the author, containing notices of the subjects of 
this memoir, have been carefully consulted. By application 
at the proper department at Washington, copies of the nu- 
merous letters written by general Harrison to the Secretary 
of War in the jears 1808. '9, '10, '11, '12 and '13, were ob- 

iii 



IV PREFACE. 

tallied, and have been found of much vahie in the preparation 
of this work. As governor of Indiana territory, superintend- 
ant of Indian affairs, and afterwards commander-in-chief of 
the north-western army, the writer of those letters possessed 
opportunities of knowing Tecumseh and the Prophet enjoy 
ed by no other individuals. 

In addition to these several sources of information, the 
author has personally, at different times, visited the frontiers 
of Ohio and Indiana, for the purpose of conversing with the 
Indians and the pioneers of that region, who happened to be 
acquainted with Tecumseh and his brother; and by these 
visits, has been enabled to enrich his narrative with some 
amusing and valuable anecdotes. 

In the general accuracy of his work the author feels con- 
siderable confidence : in its merit, as a literary production, 
very little. Every line of it having been written while suf- 
fering under the depressing influence of ill health, he has 
only aimed at a simple narrative style, without any reference 
to the graces of a polished composition. B. D. 

Cincinnati, 1841. 



CONTENTS. 



HlSTOKT OF THE ShAWAXOE IxDIAXS PaGK 9 

Catahkcassa, or Black-Hoof 41 

CoUNSTALR 45 

Spewica-Lawba, the HiGU Horn : or, Captaix Logax 49 



THELIFE OF TECUMSEH. 
CHAPTER I. 

Parentage of Tecumseh — his sister Tecumapease — his brother Cheesee- 
kau, Sauweeseekau, Nehasseemo, Tenskwautawa or the Prophet, and 
Kumskauka 61 

CHAPTER n. 

Birth place of Tecumseh — destruction of the Piqua village — early habits 
of Tecumseh — his fust battle — effort to abolish the burning of prison- 
ers — visits the Cherokecs in the south — engages in several battles — re- 
turns to Ohio in the autumn of 1790 66 

CHAPTER HI. 

Tecumseh attacked near Big Rock by some whites under Robert M'Clel- 
land — severe battle with some Kcntuckians ou the East Fork of the Little 
Miami — attack upon Tecumseh in 1793, on the waters of Paint creek 
— Tecumseh present at the attack on fort Recovery in 1794 — partici- 
pates in the battle of the Rapids of the Maumee, in 1794 71 

CHAPTER IV. 

T-^cumseh's skill as a hunter — declines attending the treaty of Greenville 
rn 1795 — in 1796 removed to Great Miami — in 1793 joined a party of 
Delawares on White river, Indiana — in 1799 attended a council be- 
A 2 V 



>1 CONTENTS. 

tween tlje whites and Indians near Urban p. — another at Chillicothe in 
1803 — makes an able speech — removes with the Prophet to Greenville, 
in 1805 — the latter commences prophecying — causes the death of Tete- 
boxti, Patterson, Coltos, and Joshua — governor Harrison's speech to the 
Prophet to arrest these murderers — effort of Welle the U. S. Indian agent 
to prevent Tecumseh and the Prophet from assembling the Indians at 
Greenville — Tecumseh's speech in reply — he nttends a council at Chil- 
licothe — speech on that occasion — council at Springfield — Tecumseh 
principal speaker and actor 83 

CHAPTER V. 

Governor Harrison's address to the Shawanoe chiefs at Greenville — the 
Prophet's reply — his influence felt among the remote tribes — he is visit- 
ed in 1808 by great numbers of Indians — Tecumseh and the Prophet 
remove to Tippecanoe — the latter sends a speech to governor Harrison 
— makes him a visit at Vincennes 1 00 

CHAPTER VI. 

Tecumseh visits the Wyandots — governor Harrison's letter about the 
Prophet to the Secretary of War — British influence over the Indians — 
Tecumseh burns governor Harrison's letter to the chiefs — great alarm 
in Indiana, in consequence of the assemblage of the Indians at Tip- 
pecanoe — death of Leatherlips, a Wyandot chief, on a charge of witch- 
craft 109 

CHAPTER VH. 

Governor Harrison makes another eflbrt to ascertain the designs of Te- 
cumseh and the Prophet — Tecumseh visits the governor at Vincennes, 
attended by four hundred warriors — a council is held — Tecumseh be- 
comes deeply excited, and charges governor Hamson with falsehood — 
council broken up in disorder — renewed the next day 120 

CHAPTER Vni. 

Ahum on the frontier continues — a Muskoe Indian killed at Vincennes — 
governor Harrison sends a pacific speech to Tecumseh and the Prophet 
-the former replies to it — in July 'i'ecumseh visits governor Harrison at 
Vincennes — disavows any intention of making war upon the whites — 
explains his object in forming a union among tlie tribes — governor Har- 
rison's opinion of Tecumseh and the Prophet — murder of the Deaf 
Chief — Tecumseh visits the southern Inihans 133 



CONTENTS. V]I 

CHAPTER IX. 

Governor HaiTison applies to the War Department for troops to maintain 
peace on the frontiers — battle of Tippecanoe on the 7th of November — 
its influence on the Prophet and his followers 146 

CHAPTER X. 

Tecumseh returns from the south — proposes to visit the President, but de- 
clines, because not permitted to go to Washington at the head of a par- 
ty — attends a council at fort Wayne — proceeds to Maiden and joins the 
British — governor Harrison's letter to the War Department relative to 
the north-west tribes 153 

CHAPTER XI. 

Tecumseh participates in the battle of Brownstown — commands the Indi- 
ans in the action near Maguaga — present at Hull's surrender — general 
Brock presents him liis military sash — attack on Chicago brought about 
by Tecumseh 1G3 

CHAPTER Xn. 

iSiege of fort Meigs — Tecumseh commands the Indians — acts with intrepid- 
ity — rescues the American prisoners from the tomahawk and scalping 
knife, after Dudley's defeat — .reported agreement between Proctor and 
Tecumseh, that general Harrison, if taken prisoner, should be delivered 
to the latter to be burned 167 

CHAPTER Xlli. 

t^ccumseh present at the second attack on fort Meigs — his stratagem of a 
snam-battle to draw out general Clay — is posted in the Black Swamp 
wiih two triousand warriors at the time of the attack on fort Stephenson 
— from thence passes by land to Alalden — compels general Procter to 
release an American prisoner — threatens to desert the British cause — 
urges an avtacs upon the American fleet — opposes Proctor's retreat from 
Maiden — deaversr a sj^eech to him on that occasion 183 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Retreat of the combined British 4nJ Lilian army to the river Thames — 
skirmish at Chatham with the troops under general Harrison — Tecum- 



Vlll 



CONTENTS. 



seh slightly wounded in the aim — battle on the Thames on the 5th of 
October — Tecumseh's death IOC 



CHAPTER XV. 

Critical examination of the question "who killed Tecumseh ? "—colonel 
R. M. Johnson's claim considered 199 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Mr. Jefferson's opinion of the Prophet — ^brief sketch of his character — an- 
ecdotes of Tecumseh — a review of the great principles of his plan of 
union among the tribes — general summary of his life and charac- 
ter 219 



HISTORY 

OF THE 

SHAWANOE INDIANS 



There is a tradition among the Shawanoes, m re- 
gard to their origin, which is said to be pecuhar to that 
U'ibe. While most of the aborigines of this country 
beheve that their respective races came out of holes in 
the earth at difi'erent places on this continent, the Shaw- 
anoes alone claim, that their ancestors once inhabited 
a foreign land ; but having determined to leave it, they 
assembled their people and marched to the sea shore. 
Here, under the guidance of a leader of the Turtle 
Iribe, one of their twelve original subdivisions, they 
walked into the sea, the waters of which immediately 
parted, and they passed in safety along the bottom of 
the ocean, until they reached this island. "^ 

The Shawanoes have been known by diflerent names. 
The Iroquois, according to Colden's history of the " Five 
Nations/' gave them the appellation of Satanas. The 
Delawares, says Gallatin, in his synopsis of the Indian 
tribes, call them Shawaneu, which means southern. 
The French writers mention them under the name of 
Chaouanons; and occasionally they are denominated 
Massawomees. 

The orthography of the word by which they are gen- 
erally designated, is not very well settled. It has been 
written Shawanos, Savv^anos, Sliawaneu, Shawnees and 
Shawanoes, which last method of spelling the word, 
will be followed in the pages of this work. 

* History of the Indian Tribes of North America, by .lames Hall and J. 
]>. McKiiinry, a valuable work, containing one hundred and twenty richly 
colored {)ortraiis of Indian chiefs. 

9 



10 HISTORY OP THE 

The original seats of the Shawanoes have been 
placed in different sections of the country. ^ This has 
doubtless been owing to their very erratic disposition. 
Of their history, prior to the year 1680, but little is 
known. The earhest mention of them by any writer 
v/hose work has fallen under our observation, was in 
the beginning of the seventeenth century. Mr. Jeffer- 
son, in his " Notes on Virginia,'' says that when captain 
John Smith first arrived in America, a fierce war was 
raging against the allied Mohicans, residing on Long 
Island, and the Shawanoes on the Susquehanna, and 
to the westward of that "river, by the Iroquois. Cap- 
tain Smith first landed on this continent in April, 1607. 
In the following year, 1608, he penetrated down the 
Susquehanna to the mouth of it, where he met six or 
seven of their canoes, filled with warriors, about to 
attack their enemy in the rear. De Laet, in 1632, in 
his enumeration of the different tribes, on either side 
of the Delaware river, mentions the Shawanoes. — 
Charlevoix speaks of them under the name of Cha- 
ouanons, as neighbors and allies in 1672, of the An- 
dastes, an Iroquois tribe, living south of the Senecas. 
Whether any Of the Shawanoes were present at the 
treaty''- made in 1682, under the celebrated Kensington 
elm, between William Penn and the Indians, does not 
positively appear from any authorities before us ; that 
such, however, was the fact, may be fairly inferred, 
from the circumstance that at a conference between 
the Indians and governor Keith, in 1722, the Shawa- 
noes exhibited a copy of this treaty written on parch- 
ment. 

To the succeeding one made at Philadelphia, in Feb- 
ruary, 1701, the Shawanoes were parties, being rep 
resented on that occasion, by their chiefs, Wopatha, 
Lemoytungh and Pemoyajagh.t More than fifty years 
afterward, a manuscript copy of this treaty of com- 
merce and friendship, was in the possession of the 
Shawanoes of Ohio, and was exhibited by them. In 

* " This treaty," says Voltaire, " was the first made between those people 
(the Indians) and the Christians, that was not ratified with an oath, and 
that was never broken." 

■j-Proud's Kisiory oi" Pi'r.us\ Iva.'.ia. 



SlIAWANOS INDIANS. 11 

1684, the Iroquois, when complained of by tlie French 
for having attacked the Miamis, justified their conduct 
on the ground, that they had invited the Santanas 
(Shawanoes) into the country, for tlie purpose of ma- 
king war upon them."^ The Sauks and Foxes, whose 
residence was originally on the St. Lawrence, claim the 
S-hawanoes as belonging to the same stock with them- 
selves, and retain traditional accounts of their emigra- 
tion to the south.t In the " History of the Indian Tribes 
of North America," when speaking of the Shawanoes, 
the authors say, " their manners, customs and language 
indicate a northern origin ; and, upwards of two centu- 
ries ago, they held the country south of Lake Erie. 
They were the first tribe which felt the force and yield- 
ed to the superiority of the Iroquois. Conquered by 
these, they migrated to the south, and from fear or 
favor, were allowed to take possession of a region upon 
the Savannah river ; but what part of that stream, 
whether in Georgia or Florida, is not known; it is pre- 
sumed the former." Mr. Gallatin speaks of the final 
defeat of the Shawanoes and their allies, in a war with 
the Five Nations, as having taken place in Xhe year 
1672. This same writer, who has carefully studied the 
language of the aborigines, considers the Shawanoes as 
belonging to the Lenape tribes of the north. From 
these various authorities, it is apparent that tlie Shaw- 
anoes belonged originally to the Algonkin-Lenape na- 
tion; and that during the three first quarters of the 
seventeenth century, they were found in eastern Penn- 
sylvania, on the St. Lawrence, and the southern sliore 
of Lake Erie ; and generally at v/ar with some of the 
neighboring tribes. Whether their dispersion, which is 
supposed to have taken place about the year 1672, 
drore them all to the south side of the Ohio, does not 
very satisfactorily appear. 

Subsequently to this period, the Shawanoes were 
found on the Ohio river below the Wabash, in Ken- 
tucky, Georgia and the Carolinas. Lawson, in his his- 
tory of Carolina in 1708, speaks of the Savanoes, 

* C olden. •{- Morse's Report. 



12 HISTORl? OF THE 

removing from the Mississippi to one of the rivers of 
South CaroUna. Gallatin quotes an authority which 
sustains Lawson, and which establishes the fact that at 
a very early period in the history of the south, there 
was a Shawanoe settlement on the head waters of the 
Catawba or Santee, and probably of the Yadkin. From 
another authority it appears, that for a time the Shaw- 
anoes had a station on the Savannah river, above Au- 
gusta ; and Adair, who refers to the war between the 
Shawanoes and Cherokees, saw a body of the former 
in the wilderness, who, after having wandered for some 
time in the woods, were then returning to the Creek 
country. According to John Johnston,"^ a large party 
of the Shawanoes, who originally lived north of the 
Ohio, had for some cause emigrated as far south as the 
Suwanoe river, which empties into the Gulf of Mex- 
ico. From thence they returned, under the direction 
of a chief named Black Hoof, about the middle of the 
last century, to Ohio. It is supposed that this tribe 
gave name to the Suwanoe river, in 1750, by which 
name the Cumberland was also known, when Doctor 
Walker, (of Virginia) visited Kentucky. 

Of the causes which led the Shawanoes to abandon 
the south, but little is known beyond what may be 
gleaned from their traditions. Hecke welder, in his 
contributions to the American Philosophical Society, 
says, "they were a restless people, delighting in wars, 
in Avhich they were constantly engaged with some of 
the surrounding nations. At last their neighbors, tired 
of being continually harassed by them, formed a league 
for their destruction. The Shawanoes finding them- 
selves thus dangerously situated, asked to be permitted 
to leave the country, which was granted to them ; and 
ihey immediately removed to the Ohio. Here their 
main body settled, and then sent messengers to their 
elder brother,! the Mohicans, requesting them to inter- 
cede for them with their grandfather, the Lenni Lena- 
pe, to take them under his protection. This the Mohi- 



* 1 Vol. Trans. Amer. Antiquarian Society. 

t The Shawanoes call the Mohicans their elder hroiher, and the Delax 
wares iheix grand fail wr. 



3HAWAN0E INDIANS. 13 

cans willingly did, and even sent a body of their own 
people to conduct their younger brother into the coun- 
try of tiie Delawares. The Shawanoes finding them- 
selves safe under the protection of their grandfather, 
did not choose to proceed to the eastward, but many 
of them remained on the Ohio, some of whom settled 
as far up that river as the long island, above which 
the French afterwards built fort Duquesne, on the spot 
where Pittsburg now stands. Those who proceeded 
farther, were accompanied by their chief, named Gach- 
gawatschiqua, and settled principally at and about the 
forks of the Delaware, between that and the confluence 
of the Delaware and Schuylkill ; and some, even on 
the spot where Philadelphia now stands ; others were 
conducted by the Mohicans into their own country, 
where they intermarried with them and became one 
people. When those settled near the Delaware had 
multiplied, they returned to Wyoming on the Sus- 
quehannah, where they resided for a great number of 
years." 

Chapman, in his history of Wyoming, states, that 
after the Shawanoes were driven from Georgia and 
Florida, they built a town at the mouth of the Wabash, 
and established themselves in it. They then applied to 
the Delawares for some territory on which to reside. 
When granted, a council was held to consider the pro- 
priety of accepting the offer of the Delawares. On this 
question the Shawanoes divided — part of them remain- 
ed on the Wabash, — the others, composing chiefly the 
Piqua tribe, formed a settlement in the forks of the 
Delaware. After a time, a disagreement arose between 
them and the Delawares, which induced the former to 
remove to the valley of the Wyoming, on the Susque- 
hamiah, on the west bank. of which they built a town, 
and lived in repose many years. Subsequently to the 
treaty held at Philadelphia, in 1742, between the gover- 
nor and the Six Nations, the Delawares were driven 
from that part of Pennsylvania ; and a portion of them 
also removed to the Wyoming valley, then in posses- 
sion of the Shawanoes, and secured the quiet occupan- 
cy of a part of it ; built a town on the east bank of the 
river, which they called Waughwauwame, where they 

B 



14 HISTORY OF THE 

lived for some time, on terms of arjiity with their new 
neighbors. 

During the summer of 1742, connt Zinzendorf of 
Saxony, came to America on a religious mission, con 
nected with the ancient chnrch of the United Brethren. 
Having heard of the Shawanoes at Wyoming, he de- 
termined to make an effort to introduce Christianity 
among them. He accordingly made them a visit, bii 
did not meet with a cordial reception. The Shawa 
noes supposed that the missionary was in pursuit of 
their lands ; and a party of them determined to assas- 
sinate him privately, for fear of exciting other Indians 
to hostility. The attempt upon his life was made, but 
strangely defeated. Chapman relates the manner of it, 
which he obtained from a companion of the count, who 
did not publish it in his memoirs, lest the United Breth- 
ren might suppose that the subsequent conversion of 
the Shawanoes was the result of their superstition. It 
is as follows : 

" Zinzendorf was alone in his tent, seated upon a 
bundle of dry weeds, which composed his bed, and 
engaged in writing, when the assassins approached to 
execute their bloody commission. It was night, and 
the cool air of September had rendered a small Are 
necessary for his comfort and convenience. A curtain, 
formed of a blanket, and hung upon pins, was the only 
guard to his tent. The heat of his small fire had arous- 
ed a large rattlesnake, which lay in the weeds not far 
from it ; and the reptile, to enjoy it the more effectually, 
had crawled slowly into the tent, and passed over one 
of his legs, undiscovered. Without, all was still and 
quiet, except the gentle murmur of the river, at the 
rapids about a mile below. At this moment, the In- 
dians softly approached the door of his tent, and sliglit- 
ly removing the curtain, contemplated the venerable 
man, too deeply engaged in the subject of his thoughts, 
to notice either their approach, or the snake which lay 
before him. At a sight like this, even the heart of the 
savages shrunk from the idea of committing so horrid 
an act ; and, quitting the spot, they hastily returned to 
the town, and informed their companions, that the 
Great Spirit protected the white man, for they had 



SHAWANOE INDIANS. 15 

found him with no door but a blanket, and had seen a 
large rattlesnake crawl over his legs without attempt- 
ing to injure him. This circumstance, together with 
the arrival soon afterwards of Conrad Weizer, the in- 
terpreter, procured the count the friendship of the In- 
dians, and probably hiduced some of them to embrace 
Christianity." 

When the war between the French and the<English 
occurred in 1754, the ShaAvanoes on the Ohio*' took 
sides with the former ; but the appeal to those residing 
It Wyoming to do the same, was ineflectual. The in- 
..uence of the count's missionary efforts had made them 
averse to war. But an event which happened soon 
afterward, disturbed the peace of their settlement, and 
finally led to their removal from the vallej^Occasion- 
al difficulties of a transient nature, had arisen between 
the Delawares and the Shawanoes at. Wyoming. An 
unkind feeling, produced by trifling local causes, had 
grown up between the two tribes. At length a childn 
ish dispute about the possession of a harmless grass- 
hopper, brought on a bloody battle ; and a final sepa- 
ration of the two parties soon followed. One day, 
while most of the Delaware men were absent on a 
hunting excursion, the women of that tribe went out to 
gather wild fruits on the margin oi the river, below 
their village. Here they met a number of Shawanoe 
women and their children, who had crossed the stream 
in their canoes, and were similarly engaged. One of 
the Shawanoe children having caught a large grasshop- 
per, a dispute arose with some of the Delaware chil- 
dren, in regard to the possession of it. In this quarrel, 
as was natural, the mothers soon became involved. 
The Delaware women contended for the possession of 
the grasshopper on the ground that the Shawanoes pos- 
sessed no privileges on that side of the river. A resort 
to violence ensued, and^he Shawanoe women being in 
the minority, were speedily driven to their canoes, and 
compelled to seek safety by flight to their own bank of 
(he stream. Here the matter rested until the return of 
the hunters, when the Shawanoes, in order to avenge 
the indignity offered to their women, armed themselves 
for battle. When they attempted to cross the river, 



16 HISTORY OF THE 

they found the Delawares duly prepared to receive 
them and oppose their landing. The battle commen- 
ced while the Shawanoes were still in their canoes, but 
they at length effected a landing, which was followed 
by a general and destructive engagement. The Shaw- 
anoes having lost a number of their warriors before 
reaching the shore, were too much weakened to sus- 
tain the battle for any length of time. After the loss 
of nearly one half their party, they were compelled to 
fly to their own side of the river. Many of the Dela- 
wares were killed. Shortly after this disastrous con- 
test, the Shawanoes quietly abandoned their village, 
and removed westward to the banks of the Ohio.* 

After the Shawanoes of Pennsylvania had fallen back 
upon the waters of the Ohio, they spread themselves 
from the Alleghenies as far westward as the Big Miami. 
One of their villages was seventeen miles below Pitts- 
burg : it was called Log's Town, and was visited by 
Croghan, in 1765. Another, named Lowertown, also 
visited by the same traveler, stood just below the 
mouth of the Scioto. It was subsequently carried away 
by a great flood in that river, which overflowed the 
site of the town, and compelled the Indians to escape 
in their canoes. They afterwards built a new town on 
the opposite side of the river, but soon abandoned it, 
and removed to the plains of the Scioto and Paint creek, 
where they established themselves, on the north fork 
of the latter stream. They had also several other vil- 
lages of considerable size in the Miami valley. One 
was " Chillicothe," standing near the mouth of Massie's 
creek, three miles north of Xenia. Another, called 
Piqua, and memorable as the birth place of Tecumseh, 
the subject of our present narrative, stands upon the 
north-west side of Mad river, about seven miles below 
Springfield, in Clark county. Both of these villages 
were "destroyed in 1780, by an expedition from Ken- 
tucky, under the command of general George Rogers 
Clark. 

After the peace of 1763, the Miamis having remov- 
ed from the Big Miami river, a body of Shawanoes 

• Chapman. 



SHAWANOE INDIANS. 17 

established themselves at Lower and Upper Piqua, in 
Miami county, which places, being near togetiier, be- 
came their great head-quarters in Ohio. Here they 
remained until driven oti" by the Kentuckians; when 
they crossed over to the St. Mary's and to Wapaka- 
notta. The Upper Piqua is said to have contained, at 
one period, near four thousand Shawanoes.* 

From the geographical location of the Shawanoes, it 
will be perceived that they were placed under circum- 
stances which enabled them, with great facility, to an- 
noy the early settlements in Kentucky; and to attack 
the emigrants descending the Ohio. In this fierce bor- 
der war, which was v/aged upon the whites for a num- 
ber of years, and oftentimes with extreme cruelty, the 
Dela wares, Wyandots, Mingoes and Miamis, united : 
the Shawanoes, however, were by far the most war- 
like and troublesome. 

The Shawanoes were originally divided into twelve 
tribes or bands, each of which was sub-divided into 
families, known as the Eagle, the Turtle, the Panther, 
&c., these animals constituting their totems. Of these 
twelve, the names of but four tribes are preserved, the 
rest having become extinct, or incorporated with them. 
They are, 1st. the Mequachake, — 2d. the Chillicothe, — 
3d. the Kiskapocoke, — 4th. the Piqua. When in coun- 
cil, one of these tribes is assigned to each of the four 
sides of the council-house, and during the continuance 
of the deliberations, the tribes retain their respective 
places. They claim to have the power of distinguish- 
ing, at sight, to which tribe an individual belongs; but 
to the casual observer, there are no visible shades of < 
difference. In each of the four tribes, except the Me- 
quachake, the chiefs owe their authority to merit, but 
in the last named, the office is hereditary. Of the orighi 
of the Piqua tribe, the following tradition has been re- 
cited:! " In ancient times, the Shawanoes had occasion 
to build a large fire, and after it was burned down, a 
great puffing and blowing was heard, when up rose a 



* John Johnston. 

f Stephen Ruddell's manuscript account of the Shawanoes, in posses- 
sion of the author. 



IS HISTORY OF THE 

man from the ashes! — hence the name Piqua, which 
means a man coming out of the ashes." Meqnachake 
signifies a perfect man. To this tribe the priesthood i.s 
confided. The members, or rather certain individuals 
of it, are alone permitted to perform the sacrifices and 
other religious ceremonies of the tribe.* The division 
of the tribe into bands or totems, is not peculiar to the 
Shawanoes, but is common to several other nations. 
One of the leading causes of its institution, was the 
prohibition of marriage between those related in a re- 
mote degree of consanguinity. Individuals are not at 
liberty to change their totems, or disregard the restraint 
imposed by it on intermarriages. It is stated in Tan- 
ner's narrative, that the Indians hold it to be criminal 
for a man to marry a woman whose totem is the same 
as his own; and they relate instances where young 
men, for a violation of this rule, have been put to death 
by their nearest relatives. Loskiel, in his history of 
the Moravian missions, says, the Delawares and Iro- 
quois never marry near relatives. According to their 
own account, the Indian nations were divided into 
tribes for the sole purpose, that no one might, either 
through temptation or mistake, marry a near relation, 
which is now scarcely possible, for v/hoever intends 
to marry must take a person of a different totem. An- 
other reason for the institution of these totems, may be 
found in their influence on the social relations of the 
tribe, in softening private revenge, and preserving peace. 
Gallatin, on the information derived from a former In- 
dian agent t among the Creeks, says, "according to the 
ancient custom, if an offence was committed by one or 
another member of the same clan, the compensation to 
be made, on account of the injury, was regulated in 
an amicable way, by the other members of the clan. 
Murder was rarely expiated in any other way than by 
the death of the murderer; the nearest male relative oi 
the deceased was the executioner; but this being done, 
as under the authority of the clan, there was no further 
retaliation. If the injury was committed by some one 
of another clan, it was not the injured party, but tlie 

* Jo])ii .lonnstoii. \ Mitchell. 



SHAVVANOK INDIANS. 19 

clan to which he belonged, that asked for reparation. 
This was rarely refused by the clan of the olfender; 
but in case of refusal, the injured clan had a right to 
do itself justice, either by killing the offender, in case 
of murder, or inflicting some other punishment for les- 
ser ofl'ences. This species of private war, was, by the 
Creeks, called, '-to take up the sticks;" because, the 
punishment generally consisted in beating the ottender. 
At the time of the annual corn-feast, the sticks were 
laid down, and could not be again taken up for the 
same offence. But it seems that originally there had 
been a superiority among some of tiie clans. That of 
the Wind, had the right to take up the sticks four times, 
that of the Bear twice, for the same offence; whilst 
those of the Tiger, of the Wolf, of the Bird, of the Root, 
and of two more whose names I do not know, could 
raise them but once. It is obvious that the object of 
the unknown legislation, was to prevent or soften the ef- 
fects of private revenge, by transferring the power and 
duty from the blood relatives to a more impartial body. 
The father and his brothers, by the same mother, never 
could belong to the same clan, as their son or nephew, 
whilst the perpetual changes, arising from intermar- 
riages with women of a different clan, prevented their 
degenerating into distinct tribes; and checked the na- 
tural tendency towards a subdivision of the nation into 
independent communities. The institution may be con- 
sidered as the foundation of the internal policy, and the 
basis of the social state of the Indians.'' 

One mode of ascertaining the origin of the Indian 
tribes, and of determining their relation to each other, 
as well as to other races of mankind, is the study of 
their language. This has, at different times, engaged 
the attention of several able philologists, who have done 
much to analyze the Indian languages, and to arrange 
in systematic order, the numerous dialects of this er- 
ratic people. The results of the investigation of one * 
of the most learned and profound of these individuals, 
may be summed up in the three following proposi- 
tions : 

* Mr. Duponceau. 



20 HISTORY OP THE 

1. "That the American languages hi general, are 
rich m words and in grammatical forms, and that ui 
their complicated construction, the greatest order, meth- 
od and regularity prevail. 

2. « That these complicated forms, which I call poly 
synthetic, appear to exist in all those languages, from 
Greenland to Cape Horn. 

3. "That these forms appear to differ essentially 
from those of the ancient and modern languages of the 
old hemisphere.'^ 

In a late learned dissertation * on this subject, it is 
stated that in nearly the whole territory contained in 
the United States, and in British and Russian America, 
there are only eight great families, each speaking a dis- 
tmct language, subdivided in many instances, into a 
number of dialects belonging to the same stock. These 
are the Eskimaux, the Athapascas (or Cheppeyans,) 
the Black Feet, the Sioux, the Alsonkin-Lenape, the 
Iroquois, the Cherokee, and the Mobilian or Chahta- 
Muskhog. The Shawanoes belong to the Algonkin- 
Lenape family, and speak a dialect of that language. 
It bears a strong affinity to the Mohican and the Chippe- 
way, but more especially the Kickapoo. Valuable vo- 
cabularies of the Shawanoe language have been given 
by Johnston and by Gallatin in their contributions to 
the American Antiquarian Society, which may be con- 
sulted by those disposed to prosecute the study of this 
subject. 

The Shawanoes have been known since the first dis- 
covery of this country, as a restless, wandering people, 
averse to the pursuits of agriculture, prone to war and 
the chase. They have, within that period, successively 
occupied the southern shore of lake Erie, the banks of 
the Ohio and Mississippi, portions of Georgia, Florida, 
Tennessee, Kentucky, and eastern Pennsylvania ; then 
again the plains of Ohio, and now the small remnant 
of them that remains, are established west of Missouri 
and Arkansas. They have been involved in numerous 
bloody wars with other tribes ; and for near half a cen- 
tury, resided with a bold, ferocious spirit, and an in- 

* Mr. Gallatin. 



SIIAWAXOE INDIANS. 21 

domitable hatred, the progress of the white settlements 
111 Pennsylv^ania, western Virginia, and especially Ken- 
tucky. The ShaAvanoes have declined more rapidly in 
numbers* than any other tribe of Indians known to the 
whites. This has been, and we suppose justly, attribu- 
ted to their wandering habits and their continual wars. 
Although one of their villages is said once to have con- 
tained four thousand souls, their present number does 
not exceed eighteen hundred. They have ever been 
considered a courageous, powerful and faithless race ; 
who have claimed for themselves a pre-eminence not 
only over other tribes, but also over the whites.! Their 
views in regard to this superiority were briefly set 
forth by one of their chiefs at a convention held at fort 
Wayne, in 1803. 

"The Master of Life," -said he, "who was himself 
an Indian, made the Shawanoes before any other of 
the human race ; and they sprang from his brain : he 
gave them all the knowledge he himself possessed, and 
placed them upon the great island, and ail the other 
red people are descended from the Shawanoes. After 
he had made the Shawanoes, he made the French and 
English out of his breast, the Dutch out of his feet, and 
the long-knives out of his hands. All these inferior 
races of men he made white and placed them beyond 
the stinking lake. J 

"The Shawanoes fo; many ages continued to be 
masters of the continent, using the knowledge they had 
received from the Great Spirit in such a manner as to 
be pleasing to him, and to secure their own happiness. 
In a great length of time, however, they became cor- 
rupt, and the Master of Life told them that he would 
take away from them the knowledge which they pos- 
sessed, and give it to the white people, to be restored, 
when by a return to good principles they would de- 
serve it. Many ages after that, they saw something 
white approaching their shores ; at first they took it for 
a great bird, but they soon found it to be a monstrous 

* John Johnston. 

■f General Harrison considers the Shawanoes, Delawares and Miamis, 
as much superior to the other tribes of the west. 
4 Atlantic Ocean. 



22 HISTORY OF THE 

canoe filled with the very people who had got the 
knowledge which belonged to the Shawanoes. After 
these white people landed, they were not content with 
having the knowledge which belonged to the Shawa- 
noes, but they usurped their lands also ; they preten- 
ded, indeed, to have purchased these lands ; but the 
very goods they gave for them, were more the property 
of the Indians than the white people, because the 
knowledge which enabled them to manufacture these 
goods actually belonged to the Shawanoes : but these 
things will soon have an end. The Master of Life is 
about to restore to the Shawanoes both their know- 
ledge and their rights, and he will trample the long 
knives under his feet." 

It has been already stated that, for a series of years, 
the several tribes of Indians residing in the territory 
now forming the state of Ohio, made violent opposition 
to the settlement of the whites, west of the Alleghanies. 
Among the most formidable of these were the Shawa- 
noes. The emigrants, whether male or female, old or 
young, were every where met by the torch, the tom- 
ahawk and the scalp ing-knife. The war-cry of the 
savage was echoed from shore to shore of the beautiful 
Ohio, whose waters were but too often reddened with 
the blood of women and children. Many of those who 
escaped the perils of the river, and had reared their log- 
cabins amid the cane-brakes of Kentucky, were doom- 
ed to encounter the same ruthless foe, and fell victims 
to the same unrelenting cruelty. While the feelings 
are shocked at these dreadful scenes of blood and car- 
nage, and the Indian character rises in hideous defor- 
mity before the mind, it is not to be forgotten that there 
are many mitigating circumstances to be pleaded in 
behalf of the aborigines. They were an ignorant peo- 
ple, educated alone for war, without the lights of civil- 
izatiouj without the attributes of mercy shed abroad by 
the spirit of Christianity. They were contending for 
their homes and their hunting grounds — the tombs of 
their forefathers — the graves of their children. They 
saw the gradual, but certain, encroachments of the 
whites upon their lands ; and they had the sagacity to 
perceive, that unless this mighty wave of emigration 



SHAWANOE IXDIAXS. 23 

was arrested, it would overwhelm them. They fought 
as savage nature will fight, with unflinching courage and 
unrelenting cruelty. But it was not alone this encroach- 
ment upon their lands, which roused their savage pas- 
sions. The wanton aggressions of the whites oftentimes 
provoked the fearful retaliation of the red-man. The 
policy of the United States towards the Indians has 
generally been of a pacific and benevolent character; 
but, in carrying out that policy, there have been many 
signal and inexcusable failures. The laws enacted by 
congress for the protection of the rights of the Indians, 
and to promote their comfort and civilization, have, in 
a great variety of cases, remained a dead letter upon 
the statute book. The agents of the government have 
often proved unfaithful, and have looked much more to 
their own pecuniary interests, than to the honest execu- 
tion of the public trusts confided to them. Nor is this 
all. There has ever been found upon the western 
frontiers, a band of unprincipled men who have set at 
defiance the laws of the United States, debauched the 
Indians with ardent spirits, cheated them of their prop- 
erty, and then committed u])on them aggressions marked 
with all the cruelty and wanton bloodshed which have 
distinguished the career of the savage. The history of 
these aggressions would fill a volume. It is only ne- 
cessary to recall to the mind of the reader, tlie horrible 
murder of the Conestoga Indians, in December 1763, 
by some Pennsylvanians; the dark tragedy enacted on 
the banks of he Muskingum, at a later period, when 
the Moravian Indians, at the three villages of Schoen- 
brun, Salem, and Gnadenhuetten, were first disarmed 
and then deliberately tomahawked by Williamson and 
his associates ; the unprovoked murder of the family 
of Logan ; the assassination of Bald Eagle, of the gal- 
lant and high-souled Cornstalk, and his son Elinipsico: 
we need but recall these, from the long catalogue of 
similar cases, to satisfy every candid mind, that rapine, 
cruelty and a thirst for human blood are not peculiarly 
the attributes of the American Indian. 

But there are still other causes which have aroused 
and kept in activity, the warlike passions of the Indi- 
ans. They have been successively subjected to English, 



24 HISTORY OF THE 

Dutch, French and Spanish influence. The agents of 
these different powers, as well as the emigrants from 
them, either from interest or a spirit of mischievous 
hostility, have repeatedly prompted the Indians to arm 
themselves against the Unitod States. The great prin- 
ciple of the Indian wars, for the last seventy years, has 
been the preservation of their lands. On this, the 
French, English and Spanish have in turn excited tliem 
to active resistance against the expanding settlements 
of the whites. It was on the principle of recovering 
their lands, that the French were their allies between 
the commencement of hostilities with the colonies, in 
1754, and the peace of 1762; and subsequently kept 
up an excitement among them until the beginning of 
the revolution. From this period, the Enghsh took the 
place of the French, and instigated them in a similar 
manner. Their views and feelings on this point, may 
be gathered from their own words : 

" It was Ave," say the Delawares, Mohicans and their 
kindred tribes, " who so kindly received the Europeans 
on their first arrival into our own country. We took 
them by the hand and bid them welcome to sit down 
by our side, and live with us as brothers ; but how did 
they requite our kindness ? They at first asked only 
for a little land, on which to raise bread for their fam- 
ilies, and pasture for their cattle, which we freely gave 
them. They saw the game in the Avoods, which the 
Great Spirit had given us for our subsistence, and tjiey 
wanted it too. They penetrated into the woods in 
quest of game, they discoA^ered spots of land they also 
Avanted, and because Ave Avere loth to part Avith it, as Ave 
saAV they had already more than they had need of, they 
took it from us by force, and drove us to a great dis- 
tance from our homes."* . 

It is matter of history, that for a period of near sev- 
enty years after it Avas planted, the colony of William 
Penn lived in peace and harmony Avith the neighbor- 
ing Indians, among Avhom Avere bands of the Avarlike 
Shawanoes. It Avas an observation of this A^enerable 
and worthy man, Avhen speaking of the Indians, that 

* Heckewelder's historical account of the Indians. 



SHAWANOE INDIANS. 25 

"if you do not abuse them, but let them have justice, 
you will win them, when there is such a knowledge of 
good and evil.'' His kind treatment to them was re- 
paid by friendly offices, both to himself and his follow- 
ers. The Indians became indeed the benefactors of the 
colonists. When the latter were scattered in 16S2, and 
without shelter or food, they were kind and attentive, 
and treated them as brothers.* 

Proud, in his History of Pennsylvania, when ex- 
plaining the aversion of the Indians to Christianity, 
attributes it to the character and conduct of the whites 
residing near or among them, "many of whom were 
of the lowest rank and least informed of mankind, who 
flowed in from Germany, Ireland and the jails of Great 
Britain, or who had fled from the better inhabited parts 
of the colony, to escape from justice." The proceed- 
ings of the assembly of Pennsylvania show that, as 
early as 1722, an Indian was barbarously killed by 
some whites, within the limits of the province. The 
assembly proposed some measures for the governor's 
consideration in regard to the affair; and mentioned 
the repeated requests of the Indians, that strong liquors 
should not be carried nor sold among them. In a trea- 
tise published in London, in 1759, on the cause of the 
then existing difficulties between the Indians and the 
colonists, we find this paragraph. " It would be too 
shocking to describe the conduct and behavior of the 
traders, when among the Indians ; and endless to enu- 
merate the abuses the Indians received and bore from 
them, for a series of years. Suffice it to say, that 
several of the tribes were, at last, weary of bearing ; 
and, as these traders were the persons who were, 
in some part, the representatives of the English among 
the Indians, and by whom they were to judge of our 
manners and rehgion, they conceived such invincible 
prejudices against both, particularly our holy religion, 
that when Mr. Sargeant, a gentleman in New England, 
took a journey in 1741, to the Shawanoes and some 
other tribes living on the Susquehanna, and off'ered to 
instruct them in the christian religion, they rejected 

* Clarkson's Life of Penn. 

c 



26 HISTORY OF THE 

his offer with disdain. Thej^ reproached Christianity. 
They told him the traders would he and cheat.'* In 
1744, governor Thomas, in a message to the assembh'- 
of Pennsylvania, says, " I cannot but be apprehensive 
that the Indian trade, as it is now carried on, will in- 
volve us in some fatal quarrel Avith the Indians. Our 
traders, in defiance of the laws, carry spirituous liquors 
among them, and take advantage of their inordinate 
appetite for it, to cheat them of their skins, and their 
wampum, which is their money." In 1753 governor 
Hamilton appointed Richard Peters, Isaac Norris and 
Benjamin Franklin, to hold a treaty with the Indians 
at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. In the report of these com- 
missioners they say: "But in justice to these Indians, 
and the promises we made them, we cannot close our 
report, without taking notice, that the quantity of strong 
liquors sold to these Indians, in the places of their res- 
idence, and during their hunting season, have increased 
to an inconceivable degree, so as to keep these poor 
creatures continually under the force of liquors, that 
they are thereby become dissolute, enfeebled and indo- 
lent when sober; and untractable and mischievous in 
their liquor, always quarreling, and often murdering 
one another.'' Some of the chiefs at this treaty said, 
"these wicked whisky-sellers, when they have once got 
the Indians in liquor, make them sell their very clothes 
from their backs. In short, if this practice is continued, 
we must be inevitably ruined ; we most earnestly, there- 
fore, beseech you to remedy it."* 

This brief sketch of the early intercourse between 
the colonists and the aborigines of this country, is not 
over-drawn, nor is it at all inapplicable to the period 
which has elapsed since the formation of the federal 
government. With an insatiable cupidity and a Avan- 
ton disregard of justice, have the lands and property of 
the Indians been sought by citizens of the United States. 
The great agent of success in this unholy business, has 
been ardent spirits, by means of which their savage rea- 
son has been overthrown, and their bad passions called 
into action. Tlie class of reckless and desperate charac- 

* Proud's History of Pennsylvania. 



SHAWANOE INDIANS. 27 

ters, described by Proud, have hung upon the western 
frontiers, for the purpose of preying upon the Indians. 
If government itself be not to blame, for want of good 
faith towards this miserable race, is it not highly culpa- 
ble for not having, by the strong arm of physical power, 
enforced the salutary laws, which from time to time, 
have been enacted for their protection ? Impartial pos- 
terity will, we apprehend, answer this question in the 
affirmative. 

The Shawanoes engaged in the war between the 
French and English, which commenced in 1755, and 
was terminated by the peace of 10th February, 1763. 
In this contest they took sides with the former, and 
rendered them essential service. The}^ committed many 
depredations on the frontier settlements of Pennsylva- 
nia and Virginia. The peace of 1763, between France 
and England, did not terminate the Indian war against 
the colonies. The Indians were displeased with the 
provisions of this treaty, especially that which ceded 
the provinces of Canada to Great Britain. This dis- 
Batisfaction was increased when the British government 
began to build forts on the Susquehanna, and to repair 
or erect those of Bedford, Ligonier, Pittsburg, Detroit, 
Presque Isle, St. Joseph and Michilimakinac. By this 
movement the Indians found themselves surrounded, 
on two sides, by a cordon of forts, and were threatened 
with an extension of them into the very heart of their 
country. They had now to choose whether they would 
remove to the north and west, negociate with the British 
government for the possession of their own land, or take 
up arms for its defence. They chose the last alter- 
native; and, a war of extermination against the Eng- 
lish residents in the western country, and even those 
on the Susquehanna, was agreed upon and speedily 
commenced. Many of the British traders living among 
the Indians were murdered; the forts of Presque Isle, 
St. Joseph and Mackinac, were taken, with a general 
slaughter of their garrisons; while the forts of Bedford, 
Ligonier, Niagara, Detroit and Pitt, were barely pre- 
served from falling into their hands. The contest was 
continued with resolute and daring spirit, and with 
much destruction of life and property, until December, 



^^ HISTORY OF THE 



1 /64, Avheii the war was brought to a close by a treaty 
at the German Flats, made between Sir William John- 
ston a^id the hostile Indians. Soon after the conclu- 
sion of this peace the Shawanoes became involved in 
a war with the Cherokees, which continued until 1768 
when, pressed hard by the united force of the former 
tribe and the Delawares, the southern Indians solicit 
ed and obtained a peace.* For the ensuing six years, 
the Shawanoes remained quiet, living on amicable 
terms with the whites on the frontiers : in April, 1774 
however, hostilities between these parties were re- 
newed. 

It IS not our purpose in the present sketch of this 
tribe, to present a detail of all their conflicts with the 
whites; but the "Dunmore war," (as it is generally 
called,) of 1774, having been mainly prosecuted by 
I^hawanoes, one of their distinguished chiefs havini 
commanded in the battle of Point Pleasant, and anothei , 
Puckecheno, (the father of Tecumseh,) having fallen in 
this engagement, would seem to render a full account 
ot the border feuds of this year, not out of place in the 
present narrative. 

In the latter part of April, 1774, a report that the 
Indians had stolen some horses, from the vicinity of 
Wheeling, alarmed the whites who were makino- settle- 
ments on the Ohio below that place. For greater safety 
they immediately assembled on Wheeling creek, and 
learning that two Indians were with some traders above 
the town, they went up the river, and without stopping 
to enquire as to their guilt, deliberately put them to 
death. On the afternoon of the same day, they found 
a party of Indians on the Ohio, below Wheelino- creek 
on whom they fired, and killed several. The Indians 
returned the fire and wounded one of the assailin- 
party. It is admitted by all the authorities on this sub- 
ject, that the two Indians killed above Wheelino- were 
shot by men under the command of colonel Michael 
Cresap. Mr. Jeff"erson, in his Notes on Virginia, states 
that the second attack, in which one of Logan's fami- 
ly is alleged to have been killed, was also headed by 

* Thatcher's Indian Biography. 



SHAWAXOE INDIANS. 29 

Cresap ; and, in this he is sustained by Doddridge, 
Heckewelder and others; but it is denied by Jacob. 
" Pursuing these examples," says Mr. Jeflerson, " Daniel 
Greathouse and one TomUnson, who Uved on the op- 
posite side of the river from tlie Indians, and were in 
habits of friendship with tliem, collected at the house of 
Polk, on Cross creek, about sixteen miles from Baker's 
bottom, a party of thirty-two men. Their object was to 
attack a hunting party of Indians, consisting of men, 
women and children, at the mouth of Yellow creek, 
some distance above Wheeling. They proceeded, and 
when arrived near Baker's bottom they concealed tliem- 
selves, and Greathouse crossed the river to the Indian 
camp. Being among them as a friend, he counted them 
and found them too strong for an open attack with his 
force. While here, he was cautioned by one of the 
women not to stay, for that the Indian men were drink- 
ing; and having heard of Cresap's murder of their re- 
latives at Grave creek, were angry ; and she pressed 
him in a friendly manner to go home ; whereupon, after 
inviting them to come over and drink, he returned to 
Baker's, which was a tavern, and desired that when any 
of them should come to his house, he would give them 
as much rum as they could drink. When this plot was 
ripe, and a sufficient number of them had collected at 
Baker's and become intoxicated, he and his party fell 
on them and massacred the whole except a little girl, 
whom they preserved as a prisoner. Among them was 
the very woman who had saved his life by pressing 
him to retire from the drunken wrath of her friends, 
when he was playing the spy in their camp at Yellow 
creek. Either she herself or some other one of the 
murdered women was the sister of Logan ; there were 
others of his relations who fell at the same time. The 
party on the opposite side of the river, upon hearing 
the report of the guns, became alarmed for their friends 
at Baker's house, immediately manned two canoes and 
sent them over. They were met by a five from Great- 
house's party, as they approached the shore, which kill 
ed some, wounded others, and obliged the remainde* 
to return. Baker subsequently stated, that six or eigh 
were wounded and twelve killed. 
c 2 



30 HISTORY or THE 

The settlers along the frontier, satisfied that the In- 
dians would retahate upon them, for these unprovoked 
aggressions, either returned to the interior of the coun- 
try, or gathered in forts, and made preparation for re- 
sistance. Tlie assembly of the colony of Virginia being 
then in session, an express was sent to the seat of gov- 
ernment, announcing the commencement of hostilities 
with the Indians, and asking assistance. In the month 
of May, the excitement among the Indians was still 
further increased by the murder of the Delaware sa- 
chem, "Bald Eagle," and the wounding of "Silver 
Heels," a popular chief of the Shawanoe tribe. Bald 
Eagle was an aged, harmless man, who was in the 
habit of visiting the whites on the most friendly terms. 
At the period of his death, he was returning alone, in 
his canoe, from a visit to the fort at the mouth of the 
Kanawha. The individual who committed the murder, 
having scalped him, placed the body in a sitting pos- 
ture in the canoe and suffered it to float down the 
stream, in which condition it was found by the Indians. 
Silver Heels vv^as returning from Albany to the Ohio, 
having been to that city as the voluntary escort of son>e 
white traders, who were fleeing from the frontiers. He 
was iired upon and dangerously wounded while cross- 
ing Big Beaver in a canoe. Such were some of the 
causes which called into action the vindictive feelings 
of the Indians. 

The distinguished Mingo chief, Logan, was roused 
to action by the murder of his relatives at Yellow creek; 
and in the course of the summer, led some war parties 
against the whites, and destroyed several families. The 
Earl of Dunmore, then governor of the colony of Vir- 
ginia, made arrangements for a campaign against the 
Indians, but it was not until September, that his forces 
were brought into the field. He ordered three regi- 
ments to be raised west of the Blue Ridge, the com- 
mand of which was given to general Andrew Lewis. 
A similar army was assembled from the interior, the 
command of which the Earl assumed in person. The 
mouth of the Great Kanawha was the point at which 
these two divisions of the army were to meet; from 
whence, under the command of governor Dunmore, 



SHAWANOE INDIANS. 31 

they were to march against the Indian towns on the 
north side of the Ohio. General Lewis' division amount- 
ed to eleven hundred men, most of whom were accns- 
tomed to danger, and with their officers, famihar with 
the modes of Indian warfare. On the eleventh of Sep- 
tember, general Lewis moved from his camp, in the 
vicinity of Lewisburg, and after a march of nineteen 
days, traversing a wilderness through the distance of 
one hundred and sixty-five miles, he reached the mouth 
of the Kanawha, and made an encampment at that 
point. Here he waited several days for the arrival of 
governor Dunmore, who, with the division under his 
command, was to have met him at this place. Disap- 
pointed in not hearing from Dunmore, general Lewis 
despatched some scouts, over land to Pittsburg, to ob- 
tain intelligence of him. On the ninth of October, and 
before the return of these scouts, an express from Dun- 
more arrived in camp, with information that he had 
changed his plan of operations; and intended to march 
directly against the Indian towns on the Scioto ; and 
dn-ecting general Lewis to cross the Ohio and join him. 
Preparations Avere making to obey this order, when, 
about sunrise, on the morning of the tenth, a large 
body of Indians was discovered within a mile of the 
camp. Two detachments were ordered out by general 
Lewis, to meet the enemy, one under the command of 
colonel Charles Lewis, the other under colonel Flem- 
ing. The former marched to the right, some distance 
from the Ohio, the latter to the left, on the bank of that 
stream. Colonel Lewis had not proceeded half a mile 
from the camp, when, soon after sunrise, his front line 
was vigorously attacked by the united tribes of the 
Sbawanoes, Delawares, Mingoes, loways, and some 
others, in number between eight hundred and one 
thousand. At the commencement of the attack, colo- 
nel Lewis received a wound, which in the course of a 
few hours proved fatal: several of his men were killed 
at the same time, and his division was forced to fall 
back. In about a minute after the attack upon Lewis, 
the enemy engaged the front of the other division, on 
the bank of the Ohio, and in a short time, colonel Flem- 
ing, the leader of it, was severely wounded, and com- 



HISTORY OF THE 



pelled to retire to the camp Coionpl r -^.w; ^^ r • • 
having now been reinfojci fn,™'^ tm pS 
ui^on tlie Indians un,a they had fallen back'i.ra 1 ne 
with Fleming's division. During this timp u 

^dTerlt? ^'^tS'"^ -'7' -tl!:ned^'»:;^/^nfe 
ea seventy The close underwood, the ravines and 
fallen trees, favored the Indians; and while th" braved 
of their warriors fonght from behind these cover's 

mile and a quarter in length. In his cosiHon ,t L 
^Zr' '"f "''''' ""'^ more or^'L^ S^u^til 
rsatrt're:!!^:"'"'^'^'^"'"'"^-'*^ ^"<i-- eKd 
,„*^^'"."=' '" 'lis valuable Sketches of Western Ad 

S.,i ,y , "'•".«!> il» Wian, were tUSti 

\va« f^^ ^^ 1 ^ ' ^"^ action commenced it 

TharbSr™.''^'^ '°'- '-^ '•^-P-' °f '^'^ '^'"^ 

In regard to the number killed on either side th,.,-. 

was^ pwmhof fir,""'"''? -"^ '^'"'^^ ^^'^° ^^^-'-^ Wiled 
e^di.rth,s action haitrtinratd^'^dlk^:?,: 

• O/Ticial Report, xii. vol.. Nile.-? Regi.ster. 



SHAVVANOE INDIANS. 33 

writers, at from eight iuiiidred to lilieen hundred men. 
It is probable that the number did not exceed eight 
hundred. They were led on by some bold and warlike 
chiefs, among them Cornstalk, Logan, Elenipsico, Red 
Eagle, and Packishenoah, the last of whom was killed. 
Cornstalk, the chief in command, was conspicuous for 
his bravery, and animated his followers m tones which 
rose above the clash of arms 5 and when a retreat be- 
came necessary, conducted it so successfully and with 
so much delay, as to give his men an opportunity of 
bearing off all their wounded and many of the killed, 
whose bodies Avere thrown into the river. The loss of 
the Indians was never ascertained. One of the histo- 
rians already quoted, speaks of it as " comparatively 
trifling." The character of our troops, many of whom 
were experienced woods-men, familiar with Indian fight- 
ing, the long continuance of the action — from the rising 
to the going down of the sun — the equality in numbers 
and position of the contending parties, the known usage 
of *]ie Indians in hiding their dead and carrying off the 
wounded, the number of killed found on the battle 
ground the following day, and the severe loss of the 
Virginians, all forbid the idea that the loss of the ene- 
my could have been trifling. The Ohio and Kanawha 
rivers aftbrded them opportunities for concealing their 
dead, while the plan of retreat, — alternately giving 
ground and renewing the attack, — was no rloubt adop- 
ted for the purpose of gaining time to remove the 
wounded across the Ohio. It is fair to assume that the 
loss of the Indians was not far short of that sustained 
by the whites. 

AU circumstances considered, this battle may be rank- 
ed among the most memorable, and well contested, 
that has been fought on this continent. The leaders, 
on either side, were experienced and able, the soldiers 
skilful and brave. The victorious party, if either could 
be so called, had as little to boast of as the vanquished. 
It was alike creditable to the Anglo-Saxon and the abo- 
riginal arms. 

After the Indians had recrossed the Ohio, they march- 
ed to the valley of the Scioto, and encamped on the 
east s-ide of that stream, about eight miles north of 



34 HISTORY OF THE 

where Chillicothe nov/ stands. Here a council was 
held to decide upon their future n^ovements. Corn- 
stalk, although true to the interests of the Shawanoes, 
was the friend of joeace, and had been opposed to mak- 
ing the attack on the troops of general Lewis. Being 
overruled, he entered into the action determined to do 
his duty. He now rose in the council and demanded, 
^^ What shall we do n'Oiv ? The Long Knives are 
coming upon us by two routes. Shall ive turn out 
and fight them?'^ No reply being made to his ques- 
tions, he continued, " shall we kill all our women and 
children, and then fight until we are all killed, our- 
selves?" The chiefs were still silent. Cornstalk turn- 
ed round, and striking his tomahawk into the war-post 
standing in the midst of the council, said with his char- 
acteristic energy of manner, " Since you are not iii- 
dined to fi gilt, I ivill go and make peace.^^ 

In the meantime the earl of Dunmore, having procured 
boats at fort Pitt, descended the river to Wheeling, where 
the army halted for a few days, and then proceeded 
down the river in about one hundred canoes, a few 
keel boats and perogues, to the mouth of Hockhocking, 
and from thence over land, until the army had got 
within a few miles of the Shawanoe camp. Here the 
army halted, and made a breastwork of fallen trees, 
and entrenchments of such extent as to include about 
twelve acres of ground, with an enclosure in the cen- 
tre containing about one acre. This was the citadel, 
which contamed the markees of the earl and his supe- 
rior ofRcers."^ Before the army of Dunmore had reach- 
ed this point, he had been met by messengers from the 
Indians suing for peace. General Lewis, in the mean- 
time, did not remain inactive. The day after the bat- 
tle he proceeded to bury his dead, and to throw up a 
rude entrenchment around his camp, and appoint a 
guard for tlie protection of the sick and wounded. On 
the succeeding day he crossed the Ohio with his army, 
and commenced his march through a trackless desert, 
for the Shawanoe towns on the Scioto. Governor Dun- 
more, having determined to make peace with the In- 



Doddridge's Indian Wars. 



SHAWANOE INDIANS. 35 

dians, sent an express to general Lewis, ordering him 
to retreat across (he Ohio. Tlie order was disregarded, 
and the march continned until the governor in person, 
met the general and peremptorily repeated it. General 
Lewis and his troops, burning with a desire ot" aveng- 
ing the Indian massacres, and the loss of their brave 
companions in the late battle, reluctantly obeyed the 
command of Danmore ; and turned their faces home- 
wards. When the governor and his officers had re- 
turned to their camp, on the following day, the treaty 
with the Indiaris was opened. For fear of treachery, 
only eighteen Indians were permitted to attend their 
chiefs within the encampment, and they were required 
to leave their arms behind them. Tlie conference was 
commenced by Cornstalk, in a long, bold and spirited 
speech, m which the white people were charged with 
being the authors of the war, by their aggressions upon 
the Indians at Captina and Yellow creek. Logan, the 
celebrated Mingo chief, refused to attend, although wil- 
ling to make peace. His influence with the Indians 
made it important to secnre his concurrence in the propo- 
sed treaty. Dnnmore sent a special messenger, (colonel 
John Gibson,) to him. They met alone in the woods, 
where Logan delivered to him his celebrated speech. 
Colonel Gibson wrote it down, returned to Dunmore's 
camp, read the speech in the council, and the terms of 
the peace were then agreed on. What those terms 
were, is not fully known. No copy of the treaty can 
now be found, although diligent enquiry has been made 
for it. Burk, in his History of Virginia, says, that the 
peace was on "condition that the lands on this side of 
the Ohio should be for ever ceded to the whites; that 
their prisoners should be delivered up, and that four 
hostages should be immediately given for the faithful 
performance of these conditions." Campbell, in his 
History of Virginia, says, the Indians "agreed to give 
up their lands on this side of the Ohio, and set at liber- 
ty their prisoRers." Butler, in his History of Kentucky, 
remarks that, " such a treaty appears at this day, to be 
utterly !)eyond the advantages wliich could have been 
claimed from Dimmore's expedition." I'iiis is undoubt- 
ediv a rcasoriabie conchisioi). The statemeiU in Dod- 



36 HISTORY OF THE 

dridge, that '^ on our part we obtained at the treaty a 
cessation of hostiUties and a surrender of prisoners, and 
nothing more," is most probably the true version of the 
terms of this peace. If an important grant of land had 
been obtained by this treaty, copies of it would have 
been preserved in the public archives, and references in 
subsequent treaties, would have been made to it ; but 
such seems not to have been the case. The conclusion 
must be, that it was only a treaty for the cessation of 
hostilities and the surrender of prisoners. 

There have been various speculations as to the caus- 
es which induced governor Dunmore to order the re- 
treat of the army under general Lewis, before the trea- 
ty was concluded. However desirous of a peace, the 
presence of an additional force would only have ren- 
dered that result more certain. It was believed by 
some of the officers of the army, and the opinion has 
been held by several writers since, that after governor 
Dunmore started on this expedition, he was advised of 
the strong probability of a war between Great Britain 
and her colonies ; and that all his subsequent measures 
were shaped with a reference to making the Indians the 
allies of England in the expected contest. On this sup- 
position, his conduct in not joining general Lewis at 
the mouth of the Kanawha, in risking his own detach- 
ment in the enemy's country, and in positively forbid- 
ding the other wing of the army from uniting with his, 
at camp Charlotte, has been explained. There are 
certainly plausible grounds for believing that governor 
Dunmore at this time, had more at heart the interests 
of Great Britain than of the colonies. 

Soon after the conclusion of this war, the Shawa- 
noes, with other tribes of the north-western Indians, 
took part with England in the war with the colonies; 
nor did the peace of 1783 put an end to these hostil- 
ities. The settlement of the valley of the Ohio by the 
whites, was boldly and perseveringly resisted ; nor was 
the tomahawk buried by the Indians, until after the 
decisive battle at the rapids of the JNIiami of the lakes, 
on the 20th of August, 1794. The proximity of the 
Shawanoe towns to the Ohio river — the great highway 
of emigration to the west — and the facility with which 



SHAWANOE INDIANS. 37 

the infant settlements in Kentucky could be readied, 
rendered this warhke tribe an annoying and dangerous 
neighbor. Led on by some daring chiefs ; fighting for 
their favorite hunting-grounds, and stimulated to action 
by British agents, the Shawanoes, for a series of years, 
pressed sorely upon the new settlements ; and are sup- 
posed to have caused the destruction of more property 
and a greater number of lives, than all the other tribes 
of the north-west united. They participated in most of 
the predatory excursions into Kentucky. They were 
present at the celebrated attack on Bryant^s station; 
they fought with their characteristic bravery in the bat- 
tle of the Blue Licks, and participated in colonel Byrd's 
hostile excursion up Licking river, and the destruction 
of JNIartin's and Riddle's stations. In turn, they were 
compelled to stand on the defensive, and to encounter 
the gallant Kentuckians on the north side of the Ohio. 
Bowman's expedition in 1779, to the waters of Mad 
river; Clark's in 1780 and 1782, and Logan's in 1786, 
to the same point; Edwards' in 1787, to the head wa- 
ters of the Big Miami; and Todd's in 1788, into the 
Scioto valley — not to name several minor ones — were 
chiefly directed against the Shawanoes; and resuhed 
in the destruction of two or three of their principal vil- 
lages, but not without a fierce and bloody resistance. 
The Shawanoes were likewise found in hostihty to the 
United States, in the campaigns of Harmar, St. Clair 
and Wayne. They united in the treaty of Greenville, 
in 1795; and with the exception of a few who fought 
at Tippecanoe, remained at peace with this government 
until the war with Great Britain, in 1812, hi which a 
considerable body of them became the allies of the lat- 
ter power. Some of the tribe, however, remained neu- 
tral in that contest, and others joined the United States, 
and continued faithful until the peace of 1815. 

WEYAPIERSENWAH, OR BLUE JACKET. 

In the campaign of general Harmar, in the year 
1790, Blue Jacket — an influential Shawanoe chief — ■ 
was associated with the Miami chief, Little Turtle, in 
the command of the Indians. In the battle of the 20th 

D 



38 HIS'JOKY OF THE 

of August 1794, when tlie combined army of the In- 
dians was defeated by general Wayne, Bhie Jacket 
had the chief control. The night previous to the bat- 
tle, while the Indians were posted at Presque Isle, a 
council was held, composed of chiefs from the Miamis, 
Potawatimies, Delawares, Shawanoes, Chippewas, Ot- 
tawas and Senecas — the seven nations engaged in the 
action. They decided against the proposition to attack 
general Wayne that night in his encampment. The 
expediency of meeting him the next day then came up 
for consideration. Little Turtle was opposed to this 
measure, but being warmly supported by Blue Jacket, 
it was finally agreed upon. The former was strongly 
inclined to peace, and decidedly opposed to risking a 
battle under the circumstances in which the Indians 
were then placed. "We have beaten the enemy," 
said he, " twice, under separate commanders. We 
cannot expect the same good fortune always to attend 
us. The Americans are now led by a chief who never 
sleeps. The night and the day are alike to him ; and, 
during all the time that he has been marching upon 
our villages, notwithstanding the watchfulness of our 
young men, we have never been able to surprise him. 
Think well of it. There is something whispers me, it 
would be prudent to listen to his offers of peace.'' 
The councils of Blue Jacket, however, prevailed over 
the better judgment of Little Turtle. The battle was 
fought and the Indians defeated. 

In the month of October following this defeat. Blue 
Jacket concurred in the expediency of sueing for peace, 
and at the head of a deputation of chiefs, was about 
to bear a flag to general Wayne, then at Greenville, 
when the mission was arrested by foreign influence. 
Governor Simcoe, colonel McKee and the Mohawk 
chief, captain John Brant, having in charge one hun- 
dred and fifty Mohawks and Messasagoes, arrived at 
the rapids of the Maumee, and invited the chiefs of the 
combined army to meet them at the mouth of the De- 
troit river, on the 10th of October. To this Blue Jack- 
et assented, for the purpose of hearmg what the British 
oflicers had to propose. Governor Simcoe urged the 
Indians to retain their hostile attitude towards the TT»^>- 



SHAWANOE INDIANS. 39 

ted States. In referring to the encroachments of the 
people of this country on the Indian lands, he said, 
"Children: I am still of the opinion that the Ohio is 
your right and title. I have given orders to the com- 
mandant of fort Miami to fire on the Americans when- 
ever they make their appearance again. I will go 
down to Quebec, and lay your grievances before the 
great man. From thence they will be forwarded to 
the king, your father. Next spring you will know the 
result of every thing what you and I will do." He 
urged the Indians to obtain a cessation of hostilities, 
until the following spring, when the English would be 
ready to attack the Americans, and by driving them 
back across the Ohio, restore their lands to the Indi- 
ans."^ These counsels delayed the conclusion of peace 
until the following summer. 

Blue Jacket was present at the treaty of Greenville 
in 1795, and conducted himself with moderation and 
dignity. Upon his arrival at that place, in excuse for 
not having met general Wayne at an earlier period, he 
said/ " Brother, when I came here last winter, I did not 
mean to deceive you. What I promised you I did in- 
tend to perform. My wish to conclude a firm peace 
with you being sincere, my imeasiness has been great 
that my people have not come forward so soon as you 
could wish, or might expect. But you must not be 
discouraged by these unfavorable appearances. Some 
of our chiefs and warriors are here ; more will arrive 
in a few days. You must not, however, expect to see 
a great number. Yet, notwithstanding, our nation will 
be well represented. Our hearts are open and void of 
deceit."' 

On the second day of the council. Blue Jacket made 
a remark, showing the relation subsisting between the 
Shawanoes and some other tribes, to which allusion 
has been made already. 

" " Brothers : 1 hope you will not take amiss my chang- 
ing my seat in this council. You all know the Wyan- 
dots are our uncles, and the Dela wares our grand- 



* Anier. State Papers, vol. 5, p. 529. Stone's Life of Brant, vol. 2, p. 
392. 



40 HISTORY OF THE 

fathers, and that the Shawaiioes are tlie elder brothers 
of the other nations present. It is, tliereibre, proper 
that I should sit next my grandfathers and uncles. 1 
hope, younger brothers, you are all satisfied with what 
your uncles said yesterday, and that 1 have done every 
thing in my power to advise and support you.'" 

At the conclusion of the treaty Blue Jacket rose and 
Sciid : 

^ " Elder Brother, and you, my brothers, present : you 
6ee me now present myself as a war-chief to lay down 
that commission, and place myself in the rear of my 
village chiefs, who for the future will command me. 
Remember, brothers, you have all buried your war 
hatchet. Your brothers, the Shawanoes, now do the 
same good act. We must think of war no more. 

" Eider Brother : you see now all the chiefs and 
Avarriors around you, have joined in the good work of 
peace, which is now accomplished. We now request 
you to inform .our elder brother, general Washington, 
of it; and of the cheerful unanimity which has marked 
their determination. We wish you to enquire of him 
if it would be agreeable that two chiefs from each na- 
tion should pay him a visit, and take him by the hand ; 
for your younger brothers have a strong desire to see 
that great man and to enjoy the pleasure of conversing 
with him.'^ 

We are indebted to major Galloway of Xenia, for 
the following anecdote of this chief: 

"In the spring of ISOO, Blue Jacket and another 
chief, whose name I have forgotten, boarded for sev- 
eral weeks at my father's, in Green county, at the 
expense of a com.pany of Kentuckians, who engaged 
Blue Jacket, for a valuable consideration, to show them 
a great silver mine, which tradition said was known to 
the Indians, as existing on Red river, one of the head 
branches of the Kentucky. A Mr. Jonathan Flack, 
agent of this company, had previously spent several 
months among the Shawanoes, at their towns and 
hunting camps, in order to induce this chief to show 
this great treasure. At the time agreed on, ten or 
twelve of the company came from Kentucky to meet 
Blue Jacket at my father's, Avhere a day or two was 



SHAWANOE INDIANS. 41 

spent in settling the terms upon which he would ac- 
company them; the crafty chief taking his own time 
to deliberate on the offers made him, and rising in his 
demands in proportion to their growing eagerness to 
possess the knowledge which was to bring untold 
wealth to all the company. At length the bargain 
was made ; horses, goods and m-oney Avere given as 
presents, and the two chiefs with their squaws, were 
escorted in triumph to Kentucky, where they were 
feasted and caressed in the most flattering manner, and 
all their wants anticipated and liberally supplied. In 
due time and with all possible secrecy, they visited the 
region where this great mine was said to be embowel- 
ed in the eartli. Here the wily Shawanoe spent some 
time in seclusion, in order to humble himself by fast- 
ings, purifications and pow-wowings, Avith a view to 
propitiate the Great Spirit ; and to get His permission 
to disclose the grand secret of the mine. An equivocal 
answer was all the response that was given to him in 
his dreams ; and, after many days of fruitless toil and 
careful research, the mine, the great object so devoutly 
sought and wished for, could not be found. The cun- 
ning Blue Jacket, however, extricated himself with 
much address from the anticipated vengeance of the 
disappointed worshippers of Plutus, by charging his 
want of success to his eyes, which were dimmed by 
reason of his old age ; and by promising to send his 
son on his return home, whose eyes were young and 
good, and who knew the desired spot and would show 
it. The son, however, never visited the scene of his 
father's failure ; and thus ended the adventures of the 
celebrated mining company of Kentucky.'' 

CATAHECASSA, OR BLACK-HOOF. 

Among the celebrated chiefs of the Shawanoes, 
Black Hoof is entitled to a high rank. He was born 
m Florida, and at the period of the removal of a por- 
tion of that tribe to Ohio and Pennsylvania, was old 
enough to recollect having bathed in the salt water. 
He was present with others of his tribe, at the defeat 
of Braddock, near Pittsburg, in 1755, and was engaged 

''d 2 



42 HISTORY OF THE 

in all the wars in Oliio from that time until the treaty 
of Greenville, in 1795. Such was the sagacity of 
Black Hoof in planning his military expeditions, and 
such the energy with which he executed them, that he 
vjon the confidence of his whole nation, and was never 
at a loss for braises to fight under his banner, " He 
was kijown far and. wide, as the great Shawanoe war- 
rior, whose cunning, sagacity and experience were only 
equalled by the fierce and desperate bravery with which 
he carried into operation his military plans. Like the 
other Shawanoe chiefs, he was the inveterate foe of the 
white man, and held, that no peace should be made, nor 
any negociation attempted, except on the condition that 
the whites should repass the mountains, and leave the 
great plains of the west to the sole occupancy of the 
native tribes. 

" He was the orator of his tribe during the greater 
part of his long life, and was an excellent speaker. 
The venerable colonel Jolmston of Piqua, to whom we 
are indebted for much valuable information, describes 
him as the most graceful Indian he had ever seen, and 
as possessing the most natural and happy faculty of 
expressing his ideas. He was well versed in the tra- 
ditions of his people ; no one understood better their 
pecuhar relations to the whites, whose settlements were 
gradually encroaching on them, or could detail with 
more minuteness the wrongs with which his nation 
was afflicted. But although a stern and uncompromis- 
ing opposition to the whites had marked his policy 
through a series of forty years, and nerved his arm in 
a hundred battles, he became at length convinced of 
the madness of an ineffectual struggle against a vastly 
superior and hourly increasing foe. No sooner had he 
satisfied himself of this truth, than he acted upon it 
with the decision which formed a prominent trait in his 
character. The temporary success of the Indians in 
several engagements previous to the campaign of gen- 
eral Wayne, had kept alive their expiring hopes; but 
their signal defeat by that gallant officer, convinced the 
more reflecting of their leaders of the desperate charac- 
ter of the conflict. Black Hoof was among those who 
decided upon making terms with the victorious Ameri- 



SHAWANOE INDIANS. 43 

can commander; and having signed the treaty of 1795, 
at Greenville, he continued faithful to his stipulations 
during the remainder of his life. From that day he 
ceased to be the enemy of the white man ; and as he 
was not one who could act a negative part, he became 
the firm ally and friend of those against whom his tom- 
ahawk had' been so long raised in vindictive animos- 
ity. He was their friend, not from sympathy or con- 
viction, but in obedience to a necessity which left no 
middle course, and under a belief that submission alone 
could save his tribe from destruction ; and having adopt- 
ed this policy, his sagacity and sense of honor, ahke 
forbade a recurrence either to open war or secret hos- 
tility. 

" Black Hoof was the principal chief of the Shawa- 
noe nation, and possessed all the influence and autho- 
rity which are usually attached to that oflice, at the 
period when Tecumseh and his brother the Prophet 
commenced their hostile operations against the United 
States. Tecumseh had never been reconciled to the 
whites. As sagacious and as brave as Black Hoof, and 
resembling him in all the better traits of savage charac- 
ter, he dill'ered widely from that respectable chief in his 
political opinions. They were both patriotic in the 
proper sense of the word, and earnestly desired to pre- 
serve the remnant of their tribe from the destruction 
that threatened the whole Indian race. Black Hoof, 
whose long and victorious career as a warrior placed 
his courage far above suspicion, submitted to what he 
believed inevitable, and endeavoured to evade the ef- 
fects of the storm by bending beneath its fury ; while 
Tecumseh, a younger man, an influential warrior, but 
not a chief, with motives equally public spirited, was, 
no doubt, unconsciously biassed by personal ambition, 
and sufl'ered his hatred to the white man to master eve- 
ry other feeling and consideration. The one was a 
leader of ripened fame, who had reached the highest 
place in his nation, and could aflbrd to retire from the 
active scenes of warfare ; the other was a candidate 
for higher honors than he had yet achieved ; and both 
might have been actuated by a common impulse of 



44 HISTORY OF THE 

rivalry, whicli induced them to espouse different opin- 
ions in opposition to each other."* 

When Tecumseh and the Prophet embarked in thoir 
scheme for the recovery of the lands as far south as the 
Ohio river, it became their interest as well as policy to 
enlist Black Hoof in the enterprise; and every effort 
which the genius of the one and the cunning of the 
other, could devise, was brought to bear upon him. 
But^Black Hoof continued faithful to the treaty which 
he bad signed at Greenville, in 1795, and by prudence 
and influence kept the greater part of his tribe from 
joining the standard of Tecumseh or engaging on the 
side of the British in the late war with England. In 
that contest he became the ally of the United States, 
and although he took no active part in it, he exerted a 
very salutary influence over his tribe. In January, 
1813, he visited general Tupper's camp, at fort McAr- 
thur, and while there, about ten o'clock one night, 
when sitting by the fire in company with the general 
and several other oflicers, some one fired a pistol 
through a hole in the wall of the hut, and shot Black 
Hoof in the face : the ball entered the cheek, glanced 
against the bone, and finally lodged in his neck : he fell, 
and for some time w^as supposed to be dead, but reviv- 
ed, and afterwards recovered from this severe wound. 
The most prompt and diligent enquiry as to the author 
of this cruel and dastardly act, failed to lead to his de- 
tection. No doubt was entertained that this attempt 
at assassination was made by a white man, stimulated 
perhaps by no better excuse than the memory of some 
actual or ideal wrong, inflicted on some of his own 
race by an unknown hand of kindred colour with that 
of his intended victim.! 

Black Hoof was opposed to polygamy, and to the 
practice of burning prisoners. He is reported to have 
lived forty years with one wife, and to have reared a 
numerous family of childi'en, who both loved and es- 
teemed him. His disposition was cheerful, and his 
conversation sprightly and agreeable. In stature he 

* Histoiy of the Indian Tribes of N. America. ■\ James Galloway. 



SIIAWANOE INDIANS. 46 

was small, being not more than five feet eight inches in 
height. He was favored with good health, and unim- 
paired eye sight to the period of his death, which oc- 
curred at Wapakonatta, in the year lS31,at the age of 
one hundred and ten years. 

CORNSTALK. 

The reader of these pages is already familiar with 
the name of Cornstalk, " the mighty Cornstalk, sachem 
of the Shawanoes, and king of the Northern Confede- 
racy." His conduct in the memorable battle of Point 
Pleasant establishes his fame as an able and gallant 
warrior. He carried into that action the skill of an 
accomplished general, and the heroism of a dauntless 
brave. Neither a thirst for blood, nor the love of re- 
nown, ever prompted him to arms. He was the open 
advocate for honorable peace — the avowed and devo- 
ted Iriend of the whites. But he loved his own people 
and the hunting grounds in which they roamed ; and, 
when his country's wrongs demanded redress, he be- 
came the " thunderbolt of Avar," and avenged the ag- 
gressions upon his tribe with energy and power. He 
fought, however, that peace might reign ; and, after the 
battle in which he so highly distinguished himself, was 
the first among his associated chiefs to propose a cessa- 
tion of hostilities. While he mourned over the inevita- 
ble doom of the Indians, he had the sagacity to perceive 
that aU ettbrts to avert it, were not only useless, but, m 
tlie end, reacted upon them with withering influence. 

He has been justly called a great and a good man. 
He was the zealous friend of the Moravian missions ; 
and warmly encouraged every efljort to ameliorate the 
moral and physical condition of his people. ^' His no- 
ble bearing," says Mr. Withers, "his generous and dis- 
interested attachment to the colonies, when the thunder 
of British cannon was reverberating through the land, 
his anxiety to preserve the frontier of Virginia from 
desolation and death, (the object of his visit to Point 
Pleasant,) all conspired to win for him the esteem and 
respect of others; while the untimely and perfidious 
manner of his death, caused a deep and lasting regret 



46 HISTORY OF THE 

to pervade the bosoms even of th-ose who were er.emie: 
to his nation ; and excited the just indignation of al 
towards his inhuman and barbarous murderers." The 
strong native powers of his mind had been more en- 
riched by observation, travel and intercourse with the 
whites, than is usual among the Indian chiefs. He 
was familiarly acquainted with the topography and 
geography of the north-west, even beyond the Missis- 
sippi river, and possessed an accurate knowledge of 
the various treaties between the whites and the Indian 
tribes of this region, and the relative rights of each 
party. 

At the treaty with Dunmore, he made a speech alike 
creditable to his love of country and his sense of justice. 
He pourtrayed, in living colors, the wrongs inflicted 
upon the Indians by the colonists, and placed in strong 
contrast the former and present condition of his nation, 
the one being happy and prosperous, the other degraded 
and oppressed. He spoke in a strain of manly bold- 
ness of the repeated perfidy of the white people ; and 
especially, of the unblushing dishonesty of the traders; 
and, finally concluded by proposing as one of the fun- [ 
damental provisions of the treaty, that no commerce \ 
with the Indians should be carried on for individual i 
profit, but that honest men should be sent among them 
by their white brother, with such things as they needed, 
to be exchanged, at a fair price, for their skins and furs : 
and still further, that no "fire-water," of any kind, 
should be introduced among them, inasmuch as it de- 
praved his people and stimulated them to aggressions 
upon their white brethren. 

As an orator, the fame of Cornstalk stands high. 
Colonel Benjamin Wilson, an officer in Dunmore's cam- 
paign, in 1774, who was present at the interview (at 
camp Charlotte) between the chiefs and the governor, 
in speaking of Cornstalk, says, "when he arose, he was 
in no wise confused or daunted, but spoke in a distinct 
and audible voice, without stammering or repetition, 
and with peculiar emphasis. His looks, v/hile address- 
ing Dunmore, were truly grand and majestic, yet grace- 
ful and attractive. J have heard the fixst orators in 
Virginia,— Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee^ — 

i 



SHAWANOE INDIANS, 47 

but never have I heard one whose powers of delivery 
surpassed those of Cornstalk." 

The treaty at camp Charlotte did not bring much 
repose to the frontier. In the course of the two years 
succeeding it, new difficulties arose between the Indians 
and the inhabitants of western Virginia. Early in the 
spring of 1777, several tribes joined in an offensive 
alliance against the latter. Cornstalk exerted all his 
influence to arrest it, but in vain. Sincerely desirous 
of averting war, he resolved to communicate this con- 
dition of affairs to the V^irginians, in the hope that they 
might dissipate the impending war-cloud. This infor- 
mation he determined to give in person. Taking with 
him Red Hawk, and one other Indian, he went secret- 
ly to the fort at Point Pleasant, with a flag of peace, 
and presented himself to the commander of that post. 
After stating to him the object of the mission, and 
fully explaining the situation of the confederate tribes 
and their contemplated attack upon the whites, he re- 
marked, in regard to his own, "the current sets (with 
the Indians,) so strong against the Americans, in con- 
sequence of the agency of the British, that they (the 
Shawanoes) will float with it, I fear, in spite of all my 
exertions." No sooner had tins information been given 
to the commander, captain Matthew Arbuckle, than he 
decided, in violation of all good faith, to detain the two 
chiefs as hostages, to prevent the meditated attack on 
the settlements. This he did; and immediately gave 
information to the executive of Virginia, who ordered 
additional troops to the frontier. In the mean time, 
the officers in the fort held frequent conversations with 
Cornstalk, whose intelligence equally surprised and 
pleased them. He took pleasure in giving them minute 
descriptions of his country, its rivers, prairies and lakes, 
its game and other productions. One day, as he was 
drawing a rude map on the floor, for the gratification 
of those present, a call was heard from the opposite 
shore of the Ohio, which he at once recognized as the 
voice of his favorite son, Elenipsico, a noble minded 
youth, who had fought by his father's side in the battle 
of Point Pleasant. At the request of Cornstalk, Elenip- 
sico crossed over the river, and joined him in the fort, 



48 HISTOllY OF THE 

where they had an affectionate and touching meeting. 
The son had become uneasy at his lather's long ab- 
sence ; and regardless of danger, had visited this place 
in search of him. It happened on the following day 
tiiat two white men, belonging to the fort, crosse-d over 
tlie Kanawha, upon a hunting excursion : as they were 
returning to their boat, they were fired upon by some 
Indians in ambush, and one of the hunters, named Gil- 
more, was killed, tlie other making his escape. T!ie 
news of this murder having reached the fort, a parly 
of captain Hall's men crossed the river and brouglit in 
the body of Gilmore ; whereupon the cry was raised, 
" let us go and kill the Indians in the fort." An in- 
furiated gang, with captain Hall at their head, instantly 
started, and in despite of all remonstrance, and the most 
solemn assurances that the murderers of Gilmore had 
no connection whatever with the imprisoned chiefs, 
they persisted in their cruel and bloody purpose, swear- 
ing, with guns in their hands, that they woidd shoot 
any one who attempted to oppose them. In the mean 
time, the mterpreter's wife, who had been a captive 
among the Indians, and had a feeling of regard for 
Cornstalk and his companions, perceiving their danger, 
ran to the cabin to tell them of it ; and to let them know 
that Hall and his party charged Elenipsico with having 
brought with him the Indians who had killed Gilmore. 
This, however, the youthful chief denied most posi- 
tively, asserting that he came unattended by any one, 
and for the single purpose of learning the fate of his 
father. At this time captain Hall and his followers, in 
despite of the remonstance and command of captain 
Arbuckle, were approaching the cabin of the prisoners. 
For a moment, Elenipsico manifested some agitation. 
His father spoke and encouraged him to be calm, saying, 
'•my son, the Great Spirit has seen fit that we should 
die together, and has sent you here to that end. It is 
his will, and let us submit ; it is all for the best ;" and 
turning round to meet the assassins at the door, was 
shot with seven bullets, and expired without a groan. 
The momentary agitation of Elenipsico passed off, and 
keeping his seat, he met his death with stern and liero- 
ic apathy. Red Hawk manifested less resolution, and 



SHAWANOE INDIANS. 49 

made a fruitless effort to conceal himself in the chim- 
ney of the cabin. He was discovered and instantly- 
shot. The fourth Indian was then slowly and cruelly 
put to death. Thus terminated this dark and fearful 
tragedy — leaving a foul blot on the page of history, 
which all the waters of the beautiful Ohio, on whose 
banks it was perpetrated, can never wash out, and the 
remembrance of which will long outlive the heroic and 
hapless nation which gave birth to the noble Cornstalk 

SpEMICA-LaWBA THE HiGH HoRN, 

generally known as 

CAPTAIN LOGAN 

In September, 1786, captain Benjamin Logan, of 
Kentucky, led an expedition of mounted men from that 
state against the Shawanoes, on the north side of the 
Ohio, and destroyed the Machachac towns on the wa- 
ters of Mad river. Most of the warriors happened to 
be absent from the villages when the invading army 
reached them. About thirty persons were captured, 
chiefly women and children. After the slight resistance 
which was made by the Indians had ceased, captain 
Logan's men were both annoyed and endangered by 
some arrows, shot among them by an invisible but not 
unpractised hand. After considerable search, in the 
tall grass around the camp, an Indian youth was dis- 
covered, who with his bow and a quiver of arrows, 
had concealed himself in a position from which he could 
successfully throw his darts against the enemy : that 
intrepid boy was Logan, the subject of the present 
biographical sketch. He likewise was made prisoner, 
and with the others carried to Kentucky. The com- 
mander of the expedition was so much pleased with 
the bold conduct of this boy, that upon returning 
home, he made him a member of his own family, in 
which he resided some years, until at length, at a coun- 
cil for the exchange of prisoners, held on the bank of 
the Ohio, opposite to Maysville, between some Shaw- 
anoe chiefs and a deputation of citizens from Ken- 
tucky, our young hero was permitted to return to his 

E 



50 HISTORY OF THE 

native land. He was ever afterwards known by the 
name of Logan. 

Of the family of this distinguished individual, we 
have been enabled to glean but few particulars. In 
M'Afee's History of the Late War, and in Butler's His- 
tory of Kentucky, he is represented to have been the 
son of Tecumseh's sister : this is manifestly an error ; 
there was no relationship between them, either by 
blood or marriage. 

Logan was a member of the Machachac tribe of the 
Shawanoes, and was elevated to the rank of a civil 
chief on account of his many estimable qualities, both 
intellectual and moral. He was a married man, and 
left behind him a wife and several children — requesting 
on his death bed that they might be sent into Kentucky, 
and placed under the patronage of his friend, colonel 
Hardin, who had married the daughter of his early 
patron, captain Logan. This, however, was not done, 
owing to objections interposed by the wife. The per- 
sonal appearance of Logan was remarkably good, be- 
ing six feet in height, finely formed and weighmg near 
two hundred pounds. 

From the period of his residence in Kentucky, to 
that of his death, Logan was the unwavering friend 
of the United States. He was extensively and favora- 
bly Imown on the frontier of Ohio, and the Indiana 
territory ; and, immediately after the declaration of 
war against England in 1812, he joined the American 
service. He acted as one of the guides of general 
Hull's army to Detroit ; and, prior to the actual invest- 
ment of fort Wayne, — an account of which will be 
presently given — he was employed by the Indian agent 
at Piqua, on an important and delicate mission. The 
Indians around fort Wayne were giving indications 
of a disposition to abandon their neutrality. This 
rendered it expedient that the women and children 
then at that point, should be removed within the in- 
habited portions of Ohio. John Johnston, the Indi- 
an agent at Piqua, knowing Logan intimately, and 
having great confidence in his judgment as well as his 
fidelily, selected him to perform this duty. He was 
accordingly furnished with a letter to the commandant 



SHAWANOE INDIANS. 51 

of that fort, in wliich assurances were given, that the 
persons about to be removed might confidently rely 
upon the discretion and enterprise of Logan. He pro- 
ceeded on his mission, and executed it successfully: 
bringing into Piqua — near one hundred miles distant 
from fort Wayne — twenty -five women and children; 
the former, without an exception, bearing testimony to 
the uniform delicacy and kindness with which he treat- 
ed them. Deeply impressed with the dangerous re- 
sponsibility of tlie office he had assumed, he is said not 
to have slept from the time the party left fort Wayne, 
until it reached Piqua. 

We next hear of Logan, in connection with the 
memorable siege of fort Wayne. This post, which 
was erected in 1794, stood at the junction of the St. Jo- 
seph's and St. Mary's rivers, and, although not with- 
in the limits of Ohio, its preservation was all-important 
to the peace and safety of our north-western frontier. 
Having been built of wood, it was, in 1812, a pile of 
combustible matter. Immediately after the surrender 
of general Hull, in August, 1812, the Indians, to the 
number of four or five hundred, closely invested this 
place. The garrison at that time, including every de- 
scription of persons, amounted to less than one Jmn- 
dred persons, of whom not more than sixty or seventy 
were capable of performing military duty. These were 
commanded by captain Rhea, an officer who, from 
several causes, was but ill qualified for the station. 
His lieutenants were Philip Ostrander and Daniel Cur- 
tis, both of whom, throughout the siege, discharged 
their duty in a gallant manner. 

At the time of the investment of this place, there 
was a considerable body of Ohio troops in the neigh- 
borhood of Piqua. These had been ordered out by 
governor Meigs, for the relief of Detroit; but, upon 
hearing of the surrender of that place, their course 
was directed towards fort W^ayne. They v/ere, liow- 
ever, almost in a state of disorganization, and mani- 
fested but little ardor in entering upon this new duty. 
Perceiving this state of things, and aware that the fort 
was in imminent danger, a young man, now major 
William Oliver, of Cincinnati, determined upon making 



52 HISTORY OF THi: 

an effort to reach the garrison. Young Ohver was a 
resident of fort Wayne, and was on his return from a 
visit to Cincinnati when, at Piqua, he learned that the 
place was besieged. He immediately joined a rifle 
company of the Ohio militia; but seeing the tardy 
movements of the troops, in advancing to the relief of 
the fort, he resolved in the first place to return with all 
possible expedition, to Cincinnati, for the purpose of 
inducing colonel Wells, of the 17th U. S. infantry, to 
march his regiment to the relief of the fort ; and, iii the 
second place, to make an effort to reach it in person, 
that the garrison might be encouraged to hold out until 
reinforcements should arrive. When Oliver arrived 
in Cincinnati, he found that general Harrison had just 
crossed the Ohio, from Kentucky, and assumed the 
command of the troops composing the north-western 
army. He called upon the general, stated the condition 
of things on the frontier, and avowed his intention of 
passing into the fort in advance of the reinforcements. 
The general informed him that the troops then at Cin- 
cinnati would be put in motion that day, and marched 
with all practicable expedition to the invested point. 
This was on the 27th of August; on the 31st Oliver 
overtook the Ohio militia at the St. Mary's river. 
Here he learned that Adrian and Shane, two experi- 
enced scouts, had been sent in the direction of fort 
Wayne, and had returned with information that the 
hostile Indians were in great force on the route to that 
place. On the next day, general Thomas Worthington, 
of Chillicothe, who was then on the frontier as Indian 
commissioner, seeing the great importance of commu- 
nicating with the garrison, determined to unite with 
Oliver in the attempt to reach it. These two enterpri 
sing individuals induced sixty-eight of the Ohio troops 
and sixteen Shawanoe Indians, among whom was Lo- 
gan, to accompany them. They marched eighteen 
miles that day, and camped for the night at Shane's 
crossing. 

Next morning they again moved forward, but in the 
course of the day, some thirty-six of their party aban- 
doned the hazardous enterprise, and returned to the 
main army. The remainder pursued their route, and 



SHAWANOE INDIANS. 53 

encamped that evening within twenty-fonr miles of fort 
Wayne. As the party was not strong enough in its 
present condition to encounter tlie besieging enemy, 
general Worthington was very rekictantly induced to 
remain at this point, while Oliver, with Logan, captain 
Johnny and Brighthorn, should make an efibrt to reacli 
the fort. Being well armed and mounted, they started 
at daybreak next morning upon this daring adventure. 
Proceeding with great caution, they came within live 
miles of the fort, before they observed any fresh Indian 
signs. At this point the keen eye of Logan discovered 
the cunning strategy of the enemy : for the purpose of 
concealing their bodies, they had dug holes on either 
side of the road, alternately, at such distances as to se- 
cure them from their own fire : these were intended for 
night watching, in order to cut off all communication 
with the fort. Here the party deemed it advisable to 
leave the main road, and strike across the country to 
the Maumee river, which was reached in safety at a 
point one and a half miles below the fort. liaving tied 
their horses in a thicket, the party proceeded cautiously 
on foot, to ascertain whether our troops or the Indians 
were in possession of the fort. Having satisfied them- 
selves on this point, they returned, remounted their 
horses, and taking the main road, moved rapidly to the 
fort. Upon reaching the gate of the esplanade, they 
found it locked, and were thus compelled to pass down 
the river bank, and then ascend it at the northern gate. 
They were favored in doing so by the withdrawal of 
the hostile Indians from this point, in carrying out a 
plan, then on the point of consummation, for taking the 
fort by an ingenious stratagem. For several days pre- 
vious to this time, the hostile chiefs under a tlag of 
truce, had been holding intercourse with the garrison ; 
and had, it is supposed, discovered the unsoldier-like 
condition of the commander. They had accordingly 
arranged their warriors in a semicircle, on the west 
and south sides of the fort, and at no great distance 
from it. Five of the chiefs, under pretence of treating 
with the officers of the garrison, were to pass into the 
fort, and when in council were to assassinate the subal- 
tern officers with pistols and knives, concealed under 

E 2 



54 HISTORY OF THE 

their blankets; and then to seize captain Rhea, who, in 
his trepidation, and under a promise of personal safety, 
would, they anticipated, order the gates of the fort to 
be thrown open for the admission of the besiegers. 
The plan, thus arranged, was in the act of being car- 
ried into execution at the moment when Ohver and 
his companions reached the gate. In speaking of the 
opportune approach of this party, heutenant Curtis 
says, " the safe arrival of Mr. Oliver at that particular 
juncture, may justly be considered most miraculous. 
One hour sooner or one later, would no doubt have 
been inevitable destruction both to himself and escort : 
the parties of Indians who had been detached to guard 
the roads and passes hi different directions, having all 
at that moment been called in, to aid in carrying the 
fort. It is generally believed by those acquainted with 
the circumstances, that not one hour, for eight days and 
nights preceding or following the hour in which Mr. 
Oliver arrived, would have afforded an opportunity of 
any probable safety." Winnemac, Five Medals, and 
three other hostile chiefs, bearing the flag under which 
they were to gain admittance to the fort to carry out 
their treacherous intentions, were surprised by sud- 
denly meeting at the gate, Oliver and his companions. 
Coming from dilierent directions and screened by the 
angles of the fort, the parties were not visible to each 
other until both were near the gate. On meeting, they 
shook hands, but it was apparent that Winnemac was 
greatly disconcerted ; he immediately wheeled and re- 
turned to his camp, satisfied that this accession of 
strength to the garrison — the forerunner, in all probabil- 
ity, of a much larger force — had defeated his scheme. 
The others of his party entered the fort, and remained 
some little time, during which they were given to un- 
derstand that Logan and his two Indian companions 
were to remain with the garrison. Oliver, in the mean 
time, having written a hasty letter, describing the con- 
dition of the fort, to general Worthington ; and the In- 
dians being equipped with new rifles from the public 
stores, they prepared to leave the fort without delay. 
Fortunately their movements were not observed by the 
enemy, until they had actually started from the garri- 



SHAWANOE INDIANS. 55 

son gate. They now pnt spurs to their horses and dash- 
ed otf at full speed. The hostile Indians were instantly 
in motion to intercept them ; the-i'ace was a severe and 
perilous one, but Logan and his companions cleared 
the enemy's line in safety, and this accomphshed, his 
loud shout of triumph rose high in the air, and fell like 
music upon the ears of the beleaguered garrison. The 
party reached general Worthington's camp early the 
next morning, and delivered Oliver's letter to hinj. 
.Notwithstanding the perilous condition of the garrison, 
however, the Ohio troops delayed moving for its relief, 
until they were overtaken by general Harrison, who, 
with his reinforcements, was unable to reach the fort 
until the twelfth. In the mean time the Indians kept 
up an incessant firing, day and night, upon the fort, 
killing on one occasion, two of the garrison who pass- 
ed out of the gate on police duty. Several times the 
buildings of the fort were set on fire by the burning 
arrows which were shot upon them, but by the vigi- 
lan(*e of tlie garrison in extinguishing the dames, a 
general conflagration was prevented. Some days after 
the arrival of Oliver, the Indians appeared to be mak- 
ing preparations for some uncommon movement, and 
one afternoon, just before night-fall, succeeded in get- 
ting possession ot one of the trading houses standing 
near the fort. From this point they demanded a sur- 
render of the garrison, under a promise of protection ; 
and with a threat of extermination if they were com- 
pelled to carry the fort by storm : they alleged, further, 
that they had just been reinforced by a large number 
of warriors, some pieces of British cannon, and artille- 
rists to man them. Their demand being promptly re- 
fused, they immediately closed in upon the fort, yelling 
hideously, firing their guns and also a couple of can- 
non. Every man in the fort capable of doing duty, 
now stood at his post, having several stands of loaded 
arms by his side. They were directed by the acting 
lieutenant, Curtis,"^ not to fire until the Indians had 
approached within twenty-five paces of the fort : the 



* Captain Rhea, liy common consent, was suspended for incapacity, 
and lieutenant Ostrander was on the sick list. 



56 HISTORY OF THK i 

fire was at length opened upon tlie entire Indian lines, 
and in a manner so destructive, that in twenty minutes 
the enemy retreated with the loss of eighteen of theii 
warriors, killed. It was discovered, subsequently, that 
the cannon used on this occasion by the Indians, had 
been made of wood by some British traders who werej 
with them ; one of the pieces burst upon the first, and 
the other on the second, fire. 

The day before general Harrison reached this place, 
the Indians concentrated at a swamp, five miles south 
of the fort, for the purpose of giving him battle ; but 
after reconnoitering his force, and finding it too strong 
for them, they fell back, passing by the fort in great 
disorder, in the hope, it is supposed, of drawing out the 
garrison, under a belief that they, (the Indians,) had 
been defeated by general Harrison's army. To pro- 
mote this idea, they had, while lying at the swamp, 
kindled extensive fires, that the rising volume of smoke 
might be mistaken for that which usually overhangs 
the field of battle. This device proving unavailing, the 
Indians, after a vigorous investment, running through 
more than twenty days, withdrew forever from the 
siege of fort Wayne. 

The enterprise of young Oliver, just related, reflected 
the highest credit on his bravery and patriotism : being 
wholly vohmtary on his part, the moral heroism of the 
act was only surpassed by its fortunate results ; as it 
prevented, in all probability, the fall of an important 
frontier post, and saved its garrison from the tomahawk 
and scalping knife. So hazardous was the effort deem- 
ed, indeed, that experienced frontier's-men endeavor 
ed to dissuade him from the undertaking; and even 
l^ogan considered it one of great peril ; but when once 
resolved upon, he gallantly incurred the hazard of the 
dc.fd, and showed himself worthy of the trust reposed 
iti him. 

In November of this year, general Harrison directed 
Logan to take a small party of his tribe, and recon- 
noitre the country in the direction of , the Rapids of the 
Maunice. When near this point, they Averc met by a 
body of tlie enemy, superior to their own in number, 
and compelled to letreat. J^ogan, captain Johnny and 



SIIAWAXOE IXDTAX5. 57 

Bright-horn, who composed the partv, eficcted their 
escape, to the left wing of the army, then under the 
command of general Winchester, who was duly inform- 
ed of tlie circumstances of their adventure. An officer 
of the Kentucky troops, general P., the second in com- 
i mand, without the sUghtest ground for such a charge, 
I accused Logan of infidehty to our cause, and of giving 
! mtelligence to the enemy. Indignant at this foul accu- 
; sation, the noble chief at once resolved to meet it in a 
manner that would leave no doubt as to his faithfulness 
j to the United States. He called on his friend Oliver, 
i and having told him of the imputation that had been 
I cast upon liis reputation, said that he would start from 
j the camp next morning, and either leave his body 
bleaching in the woods, or return with such trophies 
I from the enemy, as would relieve his character from 
• the suspicion that had been wantonly cast upon it by 
. an American officer. 

' Accordingly, on the morning of the 2 2d he started 
down the JNlaumee, attended by his two faithful com- 
panions, captain Johnny and Bright-horn. About noon, 
having stopped for the purpose of taking rest, they 
were suddenly surprised by a party of seven of the en- 
emy, amongst whom were young Elliott, a half-l)reed, 
holding a commission in the British service, and the 
j celebrated Potawatamie chief, Winnemac. Logan made 
no resistance, but with great presence of mind, extend- 
ing his hand to Winnemac, who was an old acquain- 
tance, proceeded to inform him, that he and his two 
companions, tired of the American service, were just 
leaving general Winchester's army, for the purpose of 
joining the British. Winnemac, being familiar with 
Indian strategy, was not satisfied with this declaration, 
but proceeded to disarm Logan and his comrades, and 
placmg his party around them, so as to prevent their 
escape, started for the British camp at the foot of the 
Rapids. In the course of the afternoon, Logan's ad- 
dress was such as to inspire confidence in his sincerity, 
and induce Winnemac to restore to him and his com- 
panions their arm.s. Logan now formed the plan of 
attacking his captors on the first favorable opportunity; 
and whilst marching along, succeeded in ronnnunicat- 



58 HISTORY OF THE 

iiig the substance of it to captain Johnny and Bright 
horn. Their guns being aheady loaded, they had httl 
further preparation to make, than to put bullets int( 
their mouths, to facilitate the reloading of their arms 
In carrying on this process, captain Johnny, as he after 
wards related, fearing that the man marching by hi 
side had observed the operation, adroitly did away th 
impression by remarking, "me chaw heap tobac." 

The evening being now at hand, the British Indian 
determined to encamp on the bank of Turkeyfoot creels 
about twenty miles from fort Winchester. Confidin; 
in the idea that Logan had really deserted the Ameri 
can service, a part of his captors rambled around th 
place of their encampment, in search of blackhaws 
They were no sooner out of sight, than Logan gavi 
the signal of attack upon those who remained behind 
they fired and two of the enemy fell dead — the third 
being only wounded, required a second shot to de 
spatch him ; and in the mean time, the remainder of th( 
party, who were near by, returned the fire, and all oj 
them " treed.'^ There being four of the enemy, anc 
only three of Logan's party, the latter could not watcl 
all the movements of their antagonists. Thus circimi 
stanced, and during an active fight, the fourth man oj 
the enemy passed round until Logan was uncoverec 
by his tree, and shot him through the body. By thi: 
time Logan's party had wounded two of the surviving 
four, which caused them to fall back. Taking advan 
tage of this state of things, captain Johnny mountec 
Logan — now sufiering the pain of a mortal wound — 
and Bright-horn — also wounded — on two of the ene^ 
my's horses, and started them for Winchester's camp 
wliich they reached about midnight. Captain Johnny, 
hiviiig already secured, the scalp of Winnemac, followed 
immediately on foot, and gained the same point early 
Oil the following morning. It was subsequently ascer- 
tained that the two Indians of the British party, who 
wei-e last wounded, died of their wounds, making in 
all five out of the seven, who were slain by Logan 
and his companions. 

When the news of this gallant afiair had spread 
through the camp, and especially after it was known 



SHAWANOE INDIANS. 59 

that Logan was mortally wounded, it created a deep 
aiid mournful sensation. No one, it is believed, more 
deeply regretted the fatal catastrophe, than the author 
of the charge upon Logan's integrity, which had led to 
this unhappy result. 

Logan's popularity was very great; indeed he was 
almost universally esteemed in the army, for his fidelity 
to our cause, his unquestioned bravery, and the noble- 
ness of his nature. He lived two or three days after 
reaching the camp, but in extreme bodily agony ; lie 
was buried by the officers of the army, at fort Winches- 
ter, with the honors of war. Previous to his death, he 
related the particulars of this fatal enterprise to his 
friend Oliver, declaring to him that he prized his honor 
more than life ; and, having now vindicated his repu- 
tation from the imputation cast upon it, he died satis- 
fied. In the course of this hiterview, and while writh- 
ing witli pain, he was observed to smile; upon being 
questioned as to the cause, he replied, that when he 
recalled to his mind the manner in which captain John- 
ny took oif the scalp of Winncmac, while at the same 
time dexterously watching the movements of the ene- 
my, he could not refrain from laughing — an incident in 
savage life, which shows the " ruling passion strong in 
ieath." It would perhaps be difficult in the history 
Df savage warfare, to point out an enterprise the execu- 
•ion of which reflects higher credit upon the address 
ind daring conduct of its authors, than this does upon 
Logan and his two companions. Indeed a spirit even 
ess indomitable, a sense of honor less acute, and a pat- 
riotic devotion to a good cause less active, than were 
nanifested by this gallant chieftain of the woods, might, 
Luider other circumstances, have well conferred imnior- 
;ality upon his name. 

The Shawanoe nation has produced a number of 
listinguislied individuals, besides those who have been 
noticed in this brief sketch of that people. The plan 
3f our work does not permit a niore extended enumera- 
tion of them. When a full and faithful history of 
this tribe shall be written, it will be found, we think, 
that no irihe of aborigines on this continent, has given 
birth U) so many men, remarkable for tlieir talents, 



60 HISTORY OF THE 

energy of character, and military prowess, as the 
Shawanoe. 

Under a treaty held at the rapids of the Miami of 
the lakes, in 1817, by Duncan Mc Arthur and Lewis 
Cass, commissioners on the part of the United States, 
for extinguishing Indian titles to lands in Ohio, the 
Shawanoes ceded to the government the principal por- 
tion of their lands within the limits of this state. After 
this period they resided principally on the reserve made 
by them at and around Wapakanotta, on the Auglaize 
river. Here the greater part of them remained, until 
within a few years past, when, yielding to the pressing 
appeals of the government, they sold their reserved 
lands to the United States, and removed west of the 
Mississippi. 

For a number of years prior to their final departure 
from Ohio, the society of Friends, with their character- 
istic philanthropy towards the Indians, maintained a 
mission at Wapakanotta, for the purpose of giving in- 
struction to the Shawanoe children, and inducing the 
adults to turn their attention to agricultural pursuits. 
Notwithstanding the wandering and warlike character 
of this tribe, such was the success attending this effort 
of active benevolence, that the Friends composing the 
Yearly Meetings of Baltimore, Ohio and Indiana, still 
continue a similar agency among the Shawanoes, al- 
though they are now the occupants of the territory 
lying beyond the distant Arkansas. 

Whether the new position west of the Mississippi, in 
which the Indian tribes have been placed, will tend to 
promote their civilization, arrest their deterioration in 
morals, or their decline in numbers, we think extreme- 
ly problematical. Should such, however, be the happy 
result, it may be anticipated that the tribe which has 
produced a Logan, a Cornstalk and a Tecumseh, will 
be among the first to rise above the moral degradation 
in which it is shrouded, and foremost to exhibit the 
renovating influences of christian civilization. 



THE LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 



CHAPTER I. 



P ventage of Tccumseh — his sister Tecumapease — his brothers Cheeseo- 
kau. Sauweeseekau, IVehasseemo, Tenskwautawa or the Prophet, and 
Kuraskaukau. 

There are not wanting authorities for the assertion 
that both the Anglo-Saxon and Creek blood ran in the 
i^eins of Tecu.^iseh.* It has been stated that his pa- 
ternal grandfather was a wliite man, and that his mother 
was a Creek. The ])etter opinion, however, seems to 
be, that he was wholly a Shawanoe. On this point we 
have the concurrent authority of John Johnston, late 
Indian agent at Piqua; and of Stephen Ruddell, former- 
ly of Kentucky, who for near twenty years was a prison- 
er among the Shawanoes. They both possessed ample 
opportunities for ascertaining the fact, and unite in as- 
serting that Puckesliinwa, the father of Tecumseh, was 
X member of the Kiscopoke, and Methoalaske, the 
mother, of the Turtle tribe of the Shawanoe nation. 

The parents of Tecumseh removed from Florida to 
the north side of the Ohio, about the middle of the 
eighteenth century. The father rose to the rank of a 
chief, and fell in the celebrated battle of the Kanawha, 
in 1774, leaving six sons and one daughter. Of these, 
one or two were born at the south, the others within 
what now constitutes the state of Ohio. They will bo 
briefly noticed in the order of their birth. 

Cheeseekau, the eldest, is represented to have taken 
great pains with his brother Tecumseh, laboring not 
only to make him a distinguished warrior, but to instil 
into his mind a love of truth, and a contempt for every 



» The Indian orthography of this name is Teciimtha, but the pubhc 
have been so loncf under a different im])rcs3ion, that no atteni])t has been 
made in Jh s work to rertore the ontjinal readini^. 

F 61 



62 hivy: of tecumseh. 

thing mean y.nd sordid. Cheeseekau fought by the 
side of liis father in the hattie of Kanawha ; and, some 
years afterwards, led a small band of Sliawanoes on a 
predatory expedition to the south, Tecumseh being one 
of the party. While there, they joined some Chero- 
kees, in an attack upon a fort, garrisoned by white men. 
A day or two before the attack, Cheeseekau made a 
speech to his followers, and predicted that at such an 
hour, on a certain morning, they would reach the fort, 
and that he should be shot in the forehead and killed ; 
but that the fort would be taken, if the party persevered 
in the assault, which he urged them to do. An effort 
was made by his followers to induce him to turn back, 
but he refused. The attack took place at the time pre- 
dicted, and Cheeseekau fell. His last words expressed 
the joy he felt at dying in battle ; he did not wish, he 
said, to be buried at home, like an old woman, but pre- 
ferred that the fowls of the air should pick his bones. 
The fall of their leader created a panic among the as- 
saulting party, and they suddenly retreated.* 

Tecumapease, known also by the name of Mene- 
waulakoosee, was a sister worthy of her distinguished 
brother Tecumseh, with whom, up to the period of his 
death, she was a great favorite. Sensible, kind hearted, 
and uniformly exemplary in her conduct, she obtained 
and exercised a remarkable degree of influence over the 
females of her tribe. She was united in marriage to a 
brave, called Wasegoboah, (stand firm,) who fell in the 
battle of the Thames, fighting courageously by the side 
of his brother-in-law, Tecumseh. In 1814, Tecuma- 
pease visited Quebec, in company with some other 
members of her tribe, from whence, after the close of 
the war between this country and England, she return- 
ed to the neighborhood of Detroit, where, not long af- 
terwards, she died. Tecumseh is represented to have 
entertained for her a warm affection, and to have treat- 
ed her, uniformly, with respect. He was in the habit 
of making her many valuable presents. 

Sauwaseekau, is supposed to have been born while 
his parents were removing from the south to the Ohio. 

* Stcplieii Ruddell's manuscript narrative. 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

Coiiceruing him few particulars have been preserved. 
He stood well as a Vv^arrior, and Avas killed in battle 
iuriiig Wayne's campaign in 1794. 

The fourth child, Tecumseh, or the Shooting Star, is 
the subject of this biography. 

Of the fifth, Nehaseemo, no information has been 
Dbtained. 

The two remaining children, Laulewasikaw, called 
xfter he became a prophet Tenskwautawa, and Kum- 
>kaukau, were twins. Such is understood to have been 
;he statement of the former, in giving the family pedi- 
gree. Other authorities" say that Tecumseh, Laule- 
^vasikaw, and Kumskaukau were all three born at the 
?ame time. The last named lived to be an old man, 
md died without distinction. 

Laulewasikaw, as will appear in the course of this 
^vork, hved to attain an extraordinary degree of noto- 
iety. He became, under the influence of his brother 
Pecumseh, a powerful agent in arousing the supersti- 
;ious feelings of the north-western Indians, in that 
nemorable period of their history, between the year 
ISOo, and the battle of Tippecanoe, in 1811, which dis- 
solved, in a great measure, the charm by which he had 
successfully played upon their passions and excited 
hem to action. The character and prophetical career 
)f this individual will necessarily be fully displayed in 
he progress of this work. There is, however, one trait 
)f his character which may be appropriately mentioned 
n this place — his disposition to boast, not only of his 
Dwn standing and importance, but also of the rank and 
respectability of the family to which he belonged. As 
m instance of this peculiarity, and of his tact in telling 
I plausible tale, the following narration may be cited. 
It is an ingenious mixture of truth and fiction; and 
^vas written down by the gentleman to whom it was 
-elated by Laulewasikaw. The language is that of the 
ndividual to whom the narrative was made. 

" His paternal grandfather, (according to his state- 
nent of the family pedigree) was a Creek, who, at a 
period which is not defined in the manuscript before 

*" John Jcluiston and Anthony Shane. 



64 LIPE OF TECiriMSEH. 

US, went to one of the soiitheni cities, eitlier Savcuuiah 
or Charleston, to hold a council with the English gov- 
ernor, whose daughter was present at some of the inter- 
views. This young lady had conceived a violent ad- 
miration for the Indian character ; and, having deter- 
mined to bestow herself upon some "warlike lord'' of 
the forest, she took this occasion to conmiunicate her 
partiality to her father. The next morning, in the 
Cv3uncil, the governor enquired of the Indians which of 
tiiom was the most expert hunter; and the grandfather 
of Tecumseh, then a young and handsome man, who 
sat modestty in a retired part of the room, was pointed 
out to him. When the council broke up for the day, 
the governor asked his daughter if she was really so 
partial to the Indians, as to prefer selecting a husband 
from them, and finding that she persisted in this singu- 
lar predilection, he directed her attention to the young 
Creek warrior, for whom, at first sight, she avowed a 
decided attachment. On the following morning the 
governor announced to the Creeks that his daughter 
was disposed to marry one of their number ; and, hav- 
ing pointed out the individual, added, that his own con- 
sent would be given. The chiefs at first very naturally 
doubted whether the governor was in earnest ; but up- 
on assuring them that he was sincere, they advised the 
yoimg man to embrace the lady and her offer. He 
was not so ungallant as to refuse ; and having consen- 
ted to the fortune that was thus buckled on him, was 
immediately taken to another apartment, where he was 
disrobed of his Indian costume by a train of black ser- 
vants, washed, and clad in a new suit, and the mar- 
riage ceremony was immediately performed. 

" At the close of the council the Creeks returned 
home, but the young hunter remained with his wife. 
He amused himself in hunting, in Avhich he was very 
successful, and was accustomed to take a couple of 
black servants with him, who seldom failed to bring in 
large quantities of game. He lived among the whites 
until his wife had borne him two daughters and a son. 
Upon the birth of the latter, the governor went to see 
his grandson, and was so well pleased, that he called 
his friends together, and caused thirty guns to be fired. 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 



h^ 



When the boy was seven or eight years old his father 
died, and the governor took charge of the child, who 
was often visited by the Creeks. At the age of ten or 
twelve, he was permitted to accompany the Indians to 
their nation, where he spent some time ; and two years 
after, he again made a long visit to the Creeks, who 
then, with a few Shawanoes, lived on a river called 
Pauseekoalaakee, and began to adopt their dress and 
customs. They gave him an Indian name, Puckeshin- 
waii, which means so^nethini^ that drops ; and after 
learning their language, he became so much attached 
to the Indian life, that when the governor sent for him 
he refused to return." 

Such is the pleasant and artful story, narrated with 
solemn gravity by Laulewasikaw, to emblazon the fa- 
mily pedigree by connecting it with the governor of 
one of the provinces : and here, for the present, we 
take our leave of the "Open Door." 

The band of vShawanoes with whom Puckeshinwau 
and his family emigrated to the Ohio, established them- 
selves, in the first place, m the valley of the Scioto, 
from whence they subsequently removed to the waters 
of Mad River, one of the tributaries of the Great Miami. 
After the death of Puckeshinwau, his wife Methoataas- 
kee, returned to the south, where she died at an advan- 
ced age, among" the Cherokees. She belonged to the 
Turtle tribe of the Shawanoes, and her name signifies, 
a turtle laying eggs in the sand. That she was a re- 
spectable woman, is the testimony of those who knew 
her personally : that she was naturally a superior one, 
may be fairly inferred from the character of at least a 
part of her children. 

With this brief account of an aboriginal family, 
highly reputable in itself, but on which the name of 
Tecumseh has conferred no small degree of distinction, 
we now proceed to the immediate subject of this me- 
moir. 

t2 



fi6 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 



CHAPTER 11. 

Birth place of Tecumseh — destruction of the Fiqua village — early hahits 
of Tecumseh — his first battle — effort to abolish the burning of prison- 
ers — visits the Cherokees in the south — engages in several battles — re- 
turns to Ohio in the autumn of 1790. 

So3iE diversity of opinion has prevailed as to the 
birth place of Tecumseh. It is generally supposed, 
and indeed is stated by several historians to have been 
in the Scioto valley, near the place where Chillicothe 
now stands. Such, however, is not the fact. He was 
born in the valley of the Miamis, on the bank of Mad 
River, a few miles below Springfield, and within the 
limits of Clark county. Of this there is the most satis- 
factory evidence. In the year 1805, when the Indians 
were assembling at Greenville, as it was feared with 
some hostile intention against the frontiers, the gover- 
nor of Ohio sent Duncan McArthur and Thomas Wor- 
thington to that place, to ascertain the object and dis- 
position of these Indians. Tecumseh and three other 
chiefs agreed to return with these messengers to Chilli- 
cothe, then the seat of government, for the purpose of 
holding a "talk" with the governor, (general McAr- 
thur, in a letter to the author of this work, under date 
of 19th November, 1821, says J" When on the way 
from Greenville to Chillicothe, "Tecumseh pointed out 
to ns the place where he was born. It was in an old 
Shawanoe town, on the north-west side of Mad River, 
about six miles below Springfield." This fact is corrob- 
orated by Stephen Ruddell, the early and intimate asso- 
ciate of Tecumseh, who states that he was "born in the 
neighborhood of "old Chillicothe," in the year 1768." 
Tiie " old Chillicothe" here spoken of was a Shawanoe 
village, situated on Massie's creek, three miles north 
of where Xenia now stands, and about ten or twelve 
miles south of the village pointed out by Tecumseh, to 
general McArthur, as the spot of his nativity. This 
village was the ancient Piqua of the Shawanoes, and 
occupied the site on which a smaU town called West 
Boston has since been built. The principal part of 



LIFE OF TECUMSKH ;67 

Piqiia stood upon a plain, rising fitteen or twenty feet 
above the river. On the south, between tlie village 
and Mad River, there Avas an extensive prairie — on the 
north-east some bold clifis, terminating near the river — 
on the west and south-west, level timbered land ; while 
on the opposite side of the stream, another prairie, of 
varying width, stretched back to the high grounds. 
The river sweeping by in a graceful bend — the precip- 
itous rocky clifts — the undulating hills with their tow- 
ering trees — the prairies garnished with tall grass and 
brilliant flowers — combmed to render the situation of 
Piqua both beautiful and picturesque. 

At the period of its destruction, Piqua was quite 
populous. There was a rude log fort within its limits, 
surrounded by pickets. It was, however, sacked and 
biu'nt on the 8th of August, 1780, by an army of one 
thousand men from Kentucky, after a severe and well 
conducted battle with the Indians who inhabited it. 
All the improvements of the Indians, including more 
than two hundred acres of corn and other vegetables, 
then growing in their fields, \vere laid waste and de- 
stroyed. The town was never afterwards rebuilt by 
the Shawanoes. Its inhabitants removed to the Great 
Miami river, and erected another town which they 
called Piqua, after the one that had just been destroy- 
ed ; and in defence of which they had fought with the 
skill and valor characteristic of their nation.* 

The birth of Tecumseh has been placed by some 
writers in the year 1771. Ruddell states that it occur- 
red in 1768, three years earlier, and this, we think, is 
probably the true period. His early boyhood gave 
promise of the renown of his maturer years. After 
the death of his father, which occurred when he was 
in his sixth year, he was placed under the charge of 
his oldest brother, Cheeseekau, who taught him to 
hunt, led him to battle, and labored zealously to imbue 
his mind with a love for truth, generosity, and the 
practice of those cardinal Indian virtues, courage in 
battle and fortitude in suftering. From his boyhood, 



* For this sketch of Piqua, the author is chiefly indebted to his venera- 
ble friend, Major James Galloway, of Xenia, Ohio. 



68 LIFE OF TECUM SEH. 

Tecumseh seems to have had a passion for war. His 
pastimes, hke those of Napoleon, were generally in the 
sham-battle field. He was the leader of his compan- 
ions in all their sports, and was accustomed to divide 
them into parties, one of which he always headed, for 
the purpose of fighting mimic battles, in which he usu- 
ally distinguished himself by his activity, strength and 
skill.* His dexterity in the use of the bow and arrow 
exceeded that of all the other Indian boys of his tribe, 
by whom he was loved and respected, and over whom 
he exercised unbounded influence. He was generally 
surrounded by a set of companions who were ready to 
stand or fall by his side.t It is stated that the first bat- 
tle in which he was engaged, occurred on Mad River, 
near where Dayton stands, between a party of Ken- 
tuckians, commanded by colonel Benjamin Logan, and 
some Shawanoes. At this time Tecumseh was very 
young, and joined the expedition under the care of his 
brother, who was wounded at the first fire. It is rela- 
ted by some Indian chiefs that Tecumseh, at the com- 
mencement of the action, became frightened and ran. J 
This may be true, but it is the only instance in which 
he was ever known to shrink from danger, or to loose 
that presence of mind for which he was ever after- 
wards remarkably distinguished. 

The next action in which Tecumseh participated, 
and in which he manifested signal prowess, was an 
attack made by the Indians upon some flat boats, de- 
scending the Ohio, above Limestone, now Maysville. 
The year in which it occurred is not stated, but Tecum- 
seh was not probably more than sixteen or seventeen 
years of age. The boats were captured, and all the 
persons belonging to them killed, except one, who was 
taken prisoner, and afterwards burnt. Tecumseh was 
a silent spectator of the scene, having never witnessed 
the burning of a prisoner before. After it was over, 
he expressed in strong terms, his abhorrence of the 
act, and it was finally concluded by the party that they 



* Stephen Ruddell's MS. account. f Anthony Shane. ' 

* A similar statement is made in regard to the first battle of the celebra- 
ted Red Jacket. 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 69 

would never burn any more prisoners ; "^ and to this 
resolution, he liimself, and the party also, it is believed, 
ever afterwards scrupulously adhered. It is not less 
creditable to the humanity than to the genius of Te- 
cumseh, that he should have taken this noble stand, 
and by the force and eloquence of his appeal, have 
brought his companions to the same resolution. He 
was then but a boy, yet he had the independence to 
attack a cherished custom of his tribe, and the power 
of argument to convince them, against all their precon- 
ceived notions of right and the rules of warfare, that 
the custom should be abolished. That his effort to put 
a stop to this cruel and revolting rite, was not prompt- 
ed by any temporary expediency, but was the result 
of a humane disposition, and a right sense of justice, is 
abundantly shown by his conduct towards prisoners in 
after life. 

The boats were owned by traders. The number of 
whites killed in the engagement has not been ascertain- 
ed. In the attack upon them, Tecumseh not only be- 
haved with great courage, but even left in the back 
ground some of the oldest and bravest warriors of the 
party. From this time his reputation as a brave, and 
his influence over other minds, rose rapidly among the 
tribe to which he belonged. 

About the year 17S7, Cheeseekau and Tecumseh, 
with a party of Kiscopokes, one of the tribes of the 
Shawanoe nation, moved westward on a hunting and 
predatory expedition. They made a stand for some 
months on the waters of the Mississinnaway, and then 
crossed over to the Mississippi, opposite the mouth of 
Apple creek, where they encamped and remained for 
eight or nine months. From thence they proceeded to- 
wards the Cherokee country. On their route, while op- 
posite fort Massac, they engaged in a buffalo chase, dur- 
ing which Tecumseh was thrown from his horse, and 
had his thigh broken.! This accident detained them for 
some months at the place where it occurred. So soon as 
he had recovered, the party, headed by Cheeseekau, pro- 



* Stephen Ruddell. 

■^ Shane thinks both thighs were broken, Ruddell says but one. 



70 LIFE OP TECUMSilH. 

ceecled on iheir way to the country of the Cherokees, 
who were then at hostiUties with the whites. With 
that fondness for adventure and love of war, which 
liave ever marked the Shawanoe character, they imme- 
diately offered assistance to their brethren of the south, 
which being accepted, they joined in the contest. 

The engagement in which they participated was an 
attack upon a fort, the name and position of which 
were not known to our informant. The Indians, it is 
well known are always superstitious, and from the fact 
of Cheeseekau, having foretold his death, its occurrence 
disheartened them, and in despite of the influence of 
Tecumseh and the Cherokee leaders, who rose above 
the superstition of their comrades, the attack was given 
up, and a sudden retreat followed, 
i Tecumseh, who had left the banks of the Miami in 
quest of adventures, and for the purpose of winning re- 
nown as a warrior, told the party that he was deter- 
mined not to return to his native land, until he had 
achieved some act worthy of being recounted. He 
accordingly selected eight or ten men and proceeded to 
the nearest settlement, attacked a house, killed all the 
men in it, and took the women and children prisoners. 
He did not immediately retreat, but engaged in some 
other similar adventures. During this expedition he 
was three times attacked in the night in his encamp- 
ment ; but owing to his good judgment in the choice of 
his camping ground, and his habitual watchfulness 
when in an enemy's country, no advantage was gained 
over him. On one occasion, while encamped in the edge 
of a cane-brake on the waters of the Tennessee, he was 
assaulted by a party of whites, about thirty in num- 
ber. Tecumseh had not lain down, but was engaged 
ai the moment of the attack, iii dressing some meat. 
He instantly sprang to his feet, and ordering his small 
party to follow him, rushed upon his foes with perfect 
fearlessness; and, having killed two, put the whole 
party to flight, he losing none of his own men. 

Tecumseh and his party remained at the south near- 
ly two years, traversing that region of country, visiting 
the different tribes of Indians, and engaging in the bor- 
der forays which at that period were constantly occur- 



LlVi: OF T1-:CUMSEH. 71 

ring between tiie whites and the native possessors of 
the soil. He now determined to return home, and 
accordingly set ont with eight of his party. They pass- 
ed through western Virginia, crossed the Ohio near the 
mouth of the Scioto, and visiting the Machichac towns 
on the headwaters of Mad River, from thence proceed- 
ed to the Auglaize, which they reached in the fall of 
1790, shortly after the defeat of general Harmar, hav- 
ing been absent from Ohio upwards of three years. 



CHAPTER HI. 

I'ecvunseh attacked near Big Rock by some whites under Robert M'Clel- 
land — severe battle with some Ken tuckians on the East Fork of the Little 
Miami — attack upon Tecumseh in 1793, on the waters of Paint creek 
— Tecumseh present at the attack on fort Recovery in 1791 — partici- 
pates in the battle of the Rapids of the Maumee, in 1794. 

From the period of his return, until August of the fol- 
lowing year, 1791, Tecumseh spent Iiis time in hunt- 
ing. In the autumn of this year, when information 
reached the Indians, that general St. Clair and his army 
were preparing to march from fort Washington, into 
their country, this chief headed a small party of spies, 
who went out for the purpose of watching the move- 
ments of the invading force.* While lying on Nettle 
creek, a small stream which empties into the Great Mi- 
ami, general St. Clair and his army passed out through 
Greenville to the head waters of the Wabash, where 
he was defeated. Tecumseh, of course, had no per- 
sonal participation in this engagement, so creditable to 
the valor of the Indians, and so disastrous to the arms 
and renown of the United States. 

In December, 1792, Tecumseh, with ten other war- 
I'lors and a boy, were encamped near Big Rock, be- 
tv/een Loramie's creek and Piqua, for the purpose of 
hunting. Early one morning, while the party were 
seated round the fire, engaged in smoking, they were 
fired upon by a company of whites near treble their 

* Stephftii Ruddell. 



72 LIFE OP TECUMSEH. 



number. Tecumseh raised the war-whoop, upon whicl 
the Indians sprang to their arms, and promptly return 
ed the fire. He then directed the boy to run, and ir 
turning round a moment afterwards, perceived that one 
of his men. Black Turkey, was running also. He ha^j 
already retreated to the distance of one hundred yards 
yet such was his fear of Tecumseh, he instantly obeyed 
ilie order to return, indignantly given him, and joined 
in the battle. Two of the whites were killed — one of 
tlieni by Tecumseh — before they retreated. While pur- 
suing them Tecumseh broke the trigger of his rifle, 
which induced him to give up the chase, or probably 
more of the whites would have fallen. They were 
commanded by Robert M'Clelland. Tecumseh lost 
none of his men; two of them, however, were wound- 
ed, one of whom was Black Turkey.* 

In the month of March, 1792, some horses were sto- 
len by the Indians, from the settlements in Mason 
county, Kentucky. A party of whites to the number 
of thirty-six, was immediately raised for the purpose 
of pursuing them. It embraced Kenton, Whiteman, 
MTntire, Downing, Washburn, Calvin and several oth- 
er experienced woodsmen. The first named, Simon 
Kenton, a distinguished Indian fighter, was placed in 
command. The trail of the Indians being taken, it 
was found they had crossed the Ohio just below the 
mouth of Lee's creek, which was reached by the pur- 
suing party towards evening. Having prepared rafts, 
they crossed the Ohio that night, and encamped. Early 
next morning the trail was again taken and pursued, 
on a north course, all day, the weather being bad and 
the ground wet. On the ensuing morning twelve of 
the men were unable to continue the pursuit, and were 
})ermitted to return. The remainder followed the trail 
until eleven o'clock, A. M., when a bell was heard, 
which they supposed indicated their approach to the 
Indian camp. A halt was called, and all useless bag- 
gage and clothing laid aside. Whiteman and two 
others were sent ahead as spies, in different directions, 
each being followed by a detachment of the party. 

* Anthony Shane. 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 73 

After moving forward some distance, it was found that 
the bell was approaching them. They halted and 
soon perceived a solitary Indian riding towards them. 
When within one hundred and fifty yards, he was fired 
at and killed. Kenton directed the spies to proceed, 
being now satisfied that the camp of the Indians was 
near at hand. They pushed on rapidly, and after go- 
ing about four miles, found the Indians encamped, on 
the south-east side of the east fork of the Little Miami, 
a few miles above the place where the town of Wil- 
liamsburg has since been built. The indications of a 
considerable body of Indians were so strong, that the 
expediency of an attack at that hour of the day was 
doubted by Kenton. A hurried council was held, in 
which it was determined to retire, if it could be done 
without discovery, and lie concealed until night, and 
then assault the camp. This plan was carried into 
execution. Two of the spies were left to watch the 
Indians, and ascertain whether the pursuing party had 
been discovered. The others retreated for some dis- 
tance and took a commanding position on a ridge. 
The spies watched until night, and then reported to 
their commander, that they had not been discovered by 
the enemy. The men being wet and cold, they were 
now marched down into a hollow, where they kindled 
fires, dried their clothes, and put their rifles in order. 
The party was then divided into three detachments, — 
Kenton commanding the right, M'Intire the centre, and 
Downing the left. By agreement, the three divisions 
were to move towards the camp, simultaneously, and 
when they had approached as near as possible, without 
giving an alarm, were to be guided in the commenct'- 
ment of the attack, by the fire from Kenton's party. 
When Downing and his detachment had approached 
close to the camp, an Indian rose upon his feet, and 
began to stir up the fire, which was but dimly burning. 
Fearing a discovery, Downing's party instantly shot 
him down. This was followed by a general fire from 
the three detachments, upon the Indians who were 
sleeping under some marquees and bark tents, close 
upon the margin of the stream. But unfortunately, 
as it proved in the sequel, Kenton's party had taken 

G 



74 LIFE or TECUMSEH. 

"Boone/' as their watch-word. This name happening 
to be as famihar to the enemy as themselves, led to some 
confusion in the course of the engagement. When 
fired upon, the Indians instead of retreating across the 
stream as had been anticipated, boldly stood to their 
arms, returned the fire of the assailants and rush<;d 
upon them. They Avere reinforced moreover from a 
camp on the opposite side of the river,* which until 
then, liad been unperceived by the whites. In a few 
minutes the Indians and the Kentuckians were blended 
with each other, and the cry of " Boone," and •• Che 
Boone," arose simultaneously from each party. 

It was after midnight when the attack was made, 
and there being no moon, it was very dark. Kenton 
perceiving that his men were likely to be overpowered, 
ordered a retreat after the attack had lasted for a few 
minutes ; this was continued through the remainder of 
the night and part of the next day, the Indians pursu- 
ing them, but without killing more than one of the re- 
treating party. The Kentuckians lost but two men, 
Alexander JMcIntire and John Barr.t The loss of the 
Indians was much greater, according to the statements 
of some prisoners, who, after the peace of 1795, were 
released and returned to Kentucky. They related that 
fourteen Indians were killed, and seventeen wounded. 
They stated further, that there were in the camp about 
one hundred warriors, among them several chiefs of 
note, including Tecumseh, Battise, Black Snake, Wolf 
and Chinskau ; and that the party had been formed for 
the purpose of annoying the settlements in Kentucky, 
and attacking boats descending the Ohio river. Ken- 
ton and his party were three days in reaching Lime- 
stone, during two of which they were without food, 
and destitute of sufficient clothing to protect them from 
the cold winds and rains of March. The foregoing 
particulars of this expedition are taken from the manu- 
script narrative of general Benjamin Whiteman, one 

* M'Uonald, in his interesting "Biographical Sketches," of some of the 
western pioneers, says this " second line of tents" was on the lower bottom 
of the creek and not on the opposite side of it. 

j- The father of the late Major William Barr, for many years a citizen 
of Cincinnati. 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 75 

of the early and gallant pioneers to Kentucky, now a 
resident of Green county, Ohio. 

The statements of Anthony Shane and of Stephen 
Ruddell, touching this action, vary in some particulars 
from that which has been given above, and also from 
the narrative in McDonald's Sketches. The principal 
difference relates to the nmnber of Indians in the en- 
gagement, and the loss sustained by them. They re- 
port but two killed, and that the Indian force was 
less than that of the whites. Ruddell states that at 
the commencement of the attack, Tecumseh was lying 
by the fire, outside of the tents. When the first gun 
was heard he sprang to his feet, and calling upon Sin- 
namatha* to follow his example and charge, he rushed 
forward, and killed one of the whitest with his war- 
club. The other Indians, raising the war-whoop, seiz- 
ed their arms, and rushing upon Kenton and his party, 
compelled them, after a severe contest of a few minutes, 
to retreat. One of the Indians, in the midst of the en- 
gagement, fell into the river, and in the eflbrt to get out 
of the water, made so much noise, that it created a 
belief on the minds of the whites that a reinforcement 
was crossing the stream to aid Tecumseh. This is sup- 
posed to have hastened the order from Kenton, for his 
men to retreat. The afternoon prior to the battle, one 
of Kenton's men, by the name of Mclntire, succeeded 
in catching an Indian horse, which he tied hi the rear of 
the camp ; and, when a retreat was ordered, he mount- 
ed and rode off. Early in the morning, Tecumseh and 
four of his men set oft' in pursuit of the retreating party. 
Having fallen upon the trail of Mclntire, they pursued 
it for some distance, and at length overtook him. He 
had struck a fire and was cooking some meat. When 
Mclntire discovered his pursuers, he instantly fted at 
full speed. Tecumseh and two others followed, and 
were fast gaining on him, when he turned and raised 
lis gun. Two of the Indians, who happened to be in 
advance of Tecumseh, sprung behind trees, but he 



* Or Big Fish, the name by which Stephen Ruddell, then fighting with 
Tecumseh, was called. 

t John Barr, referred to in a preceding note. 



76 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

rushed upon Mclntire and made liim prisoner. He 
was tied and taken back to the battle ground. Upon 
reaching it, Tecumseh deemed it prudent to draw off 
his men, lest the whites should rally and renew the at- 
tack. He requested some of the Indians to catch the 
horses, but they, hesitating, he undertook to do it him- 
self, assisted by one of the party. When he returned 
to camp with the horses, he found that his men had 
killed Mclntire. At this act of cruelty to a prisoner, 
he was exceedingly indignant ; declaring that it was a 
cowardly act to kill a man when tied and a prisoner. 
The conduct of Tecumseh in this engagement, and in 
the events of the following morning, is creditable alike 
to his courage and humanity. Resolutely brave in bat 
tie, his arm was never uplifted against a prisoner, noi 
did he suffer violence to be inflicted upon a captive 
without promptly rebuking it. 

McDonald, in speaking of this action, says : 
" The celebrated Tecumseh commanded the Indians. 
His cautious and fearless intrepidity made him a host 
wherever he went. In military tactics, night attacks 
are not allowable, except in cases like this, when the 
assailing party are far inferior in numbers. Sometimes 
in night attacks, panics and confusion are created in the 
attacked party, which may render them a prey to infe- 
rior numbers. Kenton trusted to something like this 
on the present occasion, but was disappointed ; for when 
Tecumseh was present, his influence over the minds of 
his followers infused that confidence in his tact and in- 
trepidity, that they could only be defeated by force of 
numbers. '^ 

Some time in the spring of 1793, Tecumseh and a 
few of his followers, while hunting in the Scioto valley 
on the waters of Paint creek, were unexpectedly attack- 
ed by a party of white men from Mason county, Ken- 
tucky. The circumstances which led to this skirmish 
were the following. Early in the spring of this year, 
an express reached the settlement in Mason, that some 
stations had been attacked and captured on Slate creek, 
in Bath county, Kentucky, and that the Indians were 
returning with their prisoners to Ohio. A party of 
thirty-three men was immediately raised to cut ofl' their 



LIFE OF TECT-.AISEH. / / 

retreat. These were divided into three companies, of 

ten men each ; — Simon Kenton commanding one, 

Baker another, and James Ward the third. The whole 
party crossed the Ohio river at Limestone, and aimed 
to strike the Scioto above the mouth of Paint creek. 
After crossing this latter stream, near where the great 
road from Maysville to Chillicothe now crosses it, 
evening came on, and they halted for the night. In a 
short time they heard a noise, and a little examination 
disclosed to them that they were in the immediate vi- 
cinity of an Indian encampment. Their horses were 
promptly taken back some distance and tied, to prevent 
an alarm. A council was held, — captain Baker offered 
to go and reconnoitre, which being agreed to, he took 
one of his company and made the examination. He 
found the Indians encamped on the bank of the creek, 
their horses being between them and the camp of the 
whites. After Baker's report was made, the party de- 
termined to remain where they were until near daylight 
the next morning ; and then to make an attack in the fol- 
lowing manner. Captam Baker and his men were to 
march round and take a position on the bank of the 
stream, in front of the Indian camp : captain Ward was 
to occupy the ground in the rear ; and captain Kenton 
one side, while the river presented a barrier on the 
fourth, thus guarding against a retreat of the Indians. 
It Avas further agreed that the attack was not to com- 
mence until there was light enough to shoot with accu- 
racy. Before Kenton and Ward had reached the posi- 
tions they were respectively to occupy, the bark of a 
dog in the Indian camp was heard, and then the report 
of a gun. Upon this alarm, Baker's men instantly fir- 
ed, and captains Kenton and Ward, with their compa- 
nies, raising the battle cry, rushed towards the camp. 
To their surprise, they found Baker and his men in the 
rear, instead of the front of the Indians, thus derang- 
ing the plan of attack, whether from design or acci- 
dent is unknown. The Indians sent back the battle cry, 
retreated a few paces, and treed. It was still too dark 
to fire with precision, but random shots were made, 
and a terrible shouting kept up by the Indians. While 
the parties were thus at bay, Tecumseh had the address 

G 2 



78 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

to send a part of their men to the rear of the Kentuck- 
ians for tFie horses ; and when they had been taken 
to the front, which was accomphshed without discove- 
ry, the Indians mounted and effected their escape;, car- 
rying with them John Ward, the only one of their party 
who was shot. This individual, a white man, had 
been captured when three years old, on Jackson, one 
of the tributaries of James river, in Virginia. He had 
been raised by the Indians, among whom he had mar- 
ried, and reared several children. He was the brother 
of James Ward, one of the leaders of this expedition, 
and died of his wound a few days after the engage- 
ment, as was subsequently ascertained. No Indian 
was killed in this skirmish, and but one of the Kentuck- 
ians, Jacob Jones, a member of Baker's detachment. 
No pursuit of the Indians was made from this point, 
nor did they prove to be the same party who had been 
engaged in the attack upon the Slate creek station.'^- 

In McDonald's Sketches, it is stated that " three In- 
dians were killed in this action ; and that when fired 
upon by their assailants, they dashed through the creek, 
and scattered through the w^oods, like a flock of young 
partridges." 

On these points, the worthy author of tlie " Sketches" 
has undoubtedly been misinformed. The Indians lost 
but one man, John Ward ; and after having treed, main- 
tained their ground until they had adroitly obtained 
possession of their horses, and then succeeded in ma- 
king their escape, carrying off not only the wounded 
man, but also the women and children who were with 
them when attacked. This we learn from authorities 
before us, on which reliance may be placed.! By one 
of these, it appears that there were but six or seven 
warriors in the party ; and, that when the attack was 
made, Tecumseh called out to them that the women 
and children must be defended, and it was owing 
to his firmness and influence that the assailants were 
kept at bay until the horses of his party were secured, 

* For the foregoing details of this little expedition, the author is indebt- 
ed to captain James Ward, of Mason county, Kentucky, who commanded 
one of the detachments on this occasion. 

T Anthony Shane. Stephen Ruddell. 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 79 

and the necessary arrangements made for a hasty re- 
treat. 

After this engagement, it is not known that Tecum- 
seh was a party to any warUke movement, until tlio 
summer of the following year. He returned to the 
waters of the Miami, and spent his time in hunting, for 
which he had a great fondness, and in which he was 
generally more successful than any other member of 
his tribe. 

After general Wayne assumed the command of the 
north-western army, he caused a fort to be built on 
the spot where the unfortunate defeat of his predeces- 
sor, general Arthur St. Clair, had occurred. This fort 
was named Recovery. 

In the summer of 1794, an attack was made upon it 
by a numerous body of Indians, among whom was Te- 
cumseh. They were accompanied by a British officer, 
and some artillerists, furnished with fixed ammunition, 
suited to the calibre of some field pieces which the In- 
dians had taken from general St. Clair, at the time of 
his defeat."^ In referring to this attack and the move- 
ments of general Wayne, Withers, in his " Chronicles 
of Border Warfare," says : 

" Before the troops marched from fort Washington, 
it was deemed advisable to have an abundant supply 
of provisions in the different forts in advance of this, as 
well for the support of their respective garrisons, as for 
the subsistence of the general army, in the event of its 
being driven into them, by untoward circumstances. 
With this view, three hundred pack horses, laden with 
flour, were sent on to fort Recovery; and as it was 
known that considerable bodies of the enemy were con- 
stantly hovering about the forts, and awaiting oppor- 
tunities of cutting olf any detachments from the main 
army, major McMahon, with ninety riflemen under 
captain Plartshorn, and fifty dragoons under captain 
Taylor, was ordered on as an escort. This force was 
so large as to discourage the savages from making an 
attack, until they should unite their several war parties, 



* For this fact see general Harrison's Address on the. 50th Anniversary 
of the first settlement of Ohio. 



80 LIFE OF TECU.\f>Kir. 

and before this could be effected, major McMahoH 
reached the place of his destination. 

" On the 30th of July, as the escort v/as about leav- 
ing fort Recovery, it was attacked by a body of one 
thousand Indians, in the immediate vicinity of the fort. 
Captain Hartshorn had advanced only three or four 
hundred yards, at the head of the riflemen, when he 
was unexpectedly beset on every side. With the most 
consummate bravery and good conduct, he maintained 
the unequal conflict, until major McMahon, placing 
himself at the head of the cavalry, charged upon the 
enemy, and was repulsed with considerable loss. Ma- 
jor McMahon, captain Taylor and cornet Torrey fell, 
upon the first onset, and many of the privates were 
killed or wounded. The whole savage force being 
now brought to press on captain Hartshorn, tliat brave 
officer was forced to try and regain the fort ; but the 
enemy interposed its strength to prevent this movement. 
Lieutenant Drake and ensign Dodd, with twenty vol- 
unteers, marched from the fort, and forcing a passage 
through a column of the enemy, at the point of the 
bayonet, joined the rifle corps at the instant that cap- 
tain Hartshorn received a shot which broke his thigh. 
Lieutenant Craig being killed, and lieutenant Marks 
taken prisoner, lieutenant Drake conducted the retreat; 
and while endeavoring for an instant to hold the enemy 
in check, so as to enable the soldiers to bring off their 
wounded captain, himself received a shot in the groin, 
and the retreat was resumed, leaving captain Hartshorn 
on the field. 

" When the remnant of the troops came within the 
waUs of the fort, lieutenant Michael, who had been 
detached at an early period of the battle by captain 
Hartshorn to the flank of the enemy, was found to be 
missing, and was given up as lost ; but while his friends 
were deploring his unfortunate fate, he and lieutenant 
Marks, who had been taken prisoner, were seen rush- 
ing through the enemy from opposite directions, to- 
vv^ards the fort. They gained it safely, notwithstand- 
ing they were actively pursued, and many shots fired 
at them. Lieutenant Marks had got oft' by knock- 
ing down the Indian who held him prisoner; and 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 81 

lieutenant Michael had lost all of his party but three 
men." 

The official letter of general Wayne giving an ac- 
count of this action, places the loss of the whites at 
twenty-two killed and thirty wounded. *'The ene- 
my/' continues the report, " were soon repulsed with 
great slaughter, but immediately rallied and reiterated 
the attack, keeping np a very heavy and constant fire, 
at a more respectable distance, for the remainder of the 
day, which was answered with spirit and eifect by the 
garrison, and that part of major McMahon's connnand 
that had regained the fort. The savages were employ- 
ed during the night (which was dark and foggy,) in 
carrying off their dead by torchlight, which occasionally 
drew a fire from the garrison. They nevertheless suc- 
ceeded so well, that there were but eight or ten bodies 
left on the field, and those close under the influence of 
the fire from the fort. The enemy again renewed the 
attack on the morning of the first inst., but were ulti- 
mately compelled to retreat with loss and disgrace from 
<.hat very field, where they had upon a former occasion, 
been proudly victorious." 

Tecumseh fought in the decisive battle between the 
American troops under general Wayne, and the com- 
bined Indian forces, which occurred on the 20th of Au- 
gust, 1794, near the rapids of the Miami of the lakes. 
It is not known whether he attended the council, the 
evening previous to the engagement, in which the ad- 
vice of Little Turtle, the Miami chief, was overruled 
by the influence of the Shawanoe chief, Blue .Tucket. 
The former was opposed to giving battle on the follow- 
ing day ; the latter in favor of it. Asa brave of dis- 
tinction, Tecumseh took the command of a party of 
Shawanoes in the engagement, but had no participation 
in the plan of the attack, or the mode of carrying it 
into execution. At the commencement of the aciion, 
he was in the advance guard with two of his brothers. 
After fighting for some time, in attempting to load his 
rifle, he put in a bullet before the powder, and was 
thus unable to use his gun. Being at this moment 
pressed in front by some infantry, he fell back with his 
party until they met another detachment of Indians. 



82 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

Tecumseh urged them to stand fast and fight, saying 
if any one would lend him a gun, he would show them 
how to do it. A fowling-piece was handed to him. 
with which he fought for some time, until the Indians 
were again compelled to give ground. While falling 
back, he met another party of Shawanoes, and although 
the whites were pressing on them, he rallied the Indi- 
ans, and induced them to make a stand in a thicket. 
When the infantry pressed close upon them, and had 
discharged their muskets into the bushes, Tecumseh 
and his party returned their fire, and then retreated, 
until they had joined the main body of the Indians be- 
low the rapids of the Miami.* 

In this memorable action, which gave victory to the 
American arms, and humbled the north-western Indi- 
ans, William Henry Harrison and Tecumseh were for 
the first time opposed to each other in battle. They 
were both young, and indeed nearly the same age, 
and both displayed that courage and gallantry which 
ever afterwards signalized their brilliant and eventful 
lives. 



CHAPTER IV. 



Tecumseh's skill as a hunter — declines attending the treaty of Greenville 
in 1795 — in 1796 removed to Great Miami — in 1798 joined a party of 
Uelavvares on Wliite river, Indiana — in 1799 attended a council be- 
tween the v/hites and Indians near Urbana — another at Chillicothe in 
1803 — makes an able speech — remove-s with the Proj)het to Greenville, 
in 1805 — the latter commences prophecying — causes the death of Tete- 
boxti, Patterson, Coltos, and Joshua — governor Harrison's speech to the 
Prophet to arrest these murderers — etTort of Wells, the U. S. Indian agent, 
to prevent Tecumseh and the Prophet from assembling the Indians at 
Greenville — Tecumseh's speech m reply — he attends a council at Chil- 
licothe — speech on that occasion — council at Springfield — Tecumseh 
princijial speaker and actor. 

In the spring of the year 17.95, Tecumseh Avas estab- 
lished on Deer creek, near where Urbana now stands, 
and engaged in his favorite amusement of hunting. 
This was more as a pastime than a matter of business. 



Anthony Shane. 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. =83 

The love of property was not a distinguishing trait of 
his character ; on the contrary, his generosity was pro- 
verbial among his tribe. If he accumulated furs, they, 
or the goods which he received iii return for them, were 
dispensed with a liberal hand. He loved hunting be- 
cause it was a manly exercise, fit for a brave ; and, fi)r 
the additional reason, that it gave him the means of 
furnishing the aged and infirm witli wholesome and 
nourishing food. The skill of Tecumseh in the chase 
has already been adverted to. While residing on Deer 
creek, an incident occurred which greatly enhanced his 
reputation as a hunter. One of his brothers, and seve- 
ral other Shawanoes of his own age, proposed to bet 
with him, that they could each kill as many deer, in the 
space of three days, as he could. Tecumseh promptly 
accepted the overture. The parties took to the woods, 
and at the end of the stipulated time, returned with the 
evidences of their success. None of the party, except 
Tecumseh, had more than twelve deer, skins ; he brought 
in upwards of thirty — near three times as many as any 
of his competitors. From this time he was generally 
conceded to be the greatest hunter in the Shawanoe 
nation. 

In the course of the summer of this year, 1795, he 
commenced raising a party of his own, and began to 
style himself a chief He did not attend the treaty of 
Greenville, held by general Wayne, on the 3d of Au- 
gust, 1795, with the hostile Indians, but after its con- 
clusion, Blue Jacket paid him a visit on Deer creek, 
and communicated to him the terms on which peace 
had been concluded. 

Tecumseh remained at this place until the spring of 
1796, when he removed with his party to the Great 
Miami, near to Piqua, where they raised a crop of 
corn. In the autumn he again changed his place of 
residence, and went over to the head branches of White 
Water, west of the Miami, where he and his party spent 
the winter; and in the spring and summer of 1797, 
raised another crop of corn. 

In the year 1798, the Delawares, then residing in 
part, on White river, Indiana, invited Tecumseh and 
his followers, to remove to that neighborhood. Hav- 



84 LIFE OP TECUMSEH. ! 

ing accepted this invitation, and made the removal, he 
continued his head quarters in the vicinity of that na- 
tion for several years, occupied in the ordinary pursuits 
of the hunter-life — gradually extending his influence 
among the Indians, and adding to the number of his! 
party. ' 

In 1799, there was a council held about six miles 
north of the place where Urbana now stands, between 
the Indians and some of the principal settlers on Mad 
River, for the adjustment of difficulties which had grown 
up between these parties. Tecumseh, with other Shaw- 
anoe chiefs, attended this council. He appears to have 
been the most conspicuous orator of the conference, 
and made a speech on the occasion, which was much 
admired for its force and eloquence. The interpreter, 
Dechouset, said that he found it very difficult to trans- 
late the lofty flights of Tecumseh, although he was as 
well acquainted with the Shawanoe language, as with 
the French, which was his mother tongue.* 

We next hear of Tecumseh, under circumstances 
which show the confidence reposed in him by the 
white settlers on the frontier. 

In the month of April, 1803, Thomas Herrod, living 
sixteen miles north-west of Chillicothe, was shot, toma- 
hawked, and scalped, near his own house. The In- 
dians were suspected of having committed this deed; 
a wanton and cruel retaliation was made upon one of 
them, (guiltless no doubt of that particular crime,) and 
the settlement in the Scioto valley and north-west of it, 
was thrown into a state of much excitement. The In- 
dians fled in one direction and the whites in another. 
For the purpose of ascertaining the facts in the case, 
and preventing further hostilities, several patriotic citi- 
zens of Chillicothe mounted their horses, and rode into 
the Indian country, where they found Tecumseh and a 
body of Indians. They disavowed all knowledge of 
the murder of Herrod, and stated, explicitly, that they 
were peaceably inclined, and disposed to adhere to the 
treaty of Greenville. Tecumseh finally agreed to re- 
turn with the deputation from Chillicothe, that he 

* J*ame3 Galloway, of Xeiiia. 



LIFE OK TKCU.MSEH. 85 

might in person, give similar assurances to ttie people 
of that place. He did so, and a day was fixed on, 
when he should make an address upon the subject. A 
white man, raised among the Indians, acted as interpre- 
|ter. Governor Tiflin opened the conference. '-'When 
'Tecumseh rose to speak," says an eyewitness, "as he 
:cast his gaze over the vast multitude, which the interest- 
ling occasion had drawn together, he appeared one of 
ithe most dignified men I ever beheld. While this ora- 
tor of nature was speakmg, the vast crowd preserved 
the most profound silence. From the confident manner 
in which he spoke of the intention of the Indians to ad- 
here to the treaty of Greenville, and live in peace and 
[friendship with their white brethren, he dispelled, as if 
by magic, the apprehensions of the whites — the settlers 
returned to their deserted farms, and business generally 
was resumed throughout that region.""' Tiiis incident 
is of value, in forming an estimate of the character of 
this chief: it exhibits the confidence reposed in him by 
the white inliabitants on the frontier. The declaration 
of no other Indian could thus have dissipated the fears 
of a border war, which then pervaded the settlement. 

Some time during this year, a stout Kentuckian 
came to Ohio, for the purpose of exploring the lands 
on Mad River, and lodged one night at the house of 
captain Abner Barrett, residing on the head waters of 
Buck creek. In the course of the evening, he learned 
with apparent alarm, that there were some Indians en- 
camped within a short distance of the house. Shortly 
after hearing this unwelcome intelligence, the door of 
captain Barrett's dwelling was suddenly opened, and 
Tecumseh entered with his usual stately air : he paused 
in silence, and looked around, until at length his eye 
was fixed upon the stranger, who was manifesting 
symptoms of alarm, and did not venture to look the stern 
savage in the face. Tecumseh turned to his host, and. 
pointing to the agitated Kentuckian, exclaimed, "a big 
baby! a big baby!" He then stepped up to him, and 
gently slapping him on the shoukier several times, re- 
peated with a contemptuous manner, the phrase " big 



Colonel John M'Donald. 

H 



86 LIFE OF TECl^MSEH. 



baby! big baby!" to the great alarm cf the astonishec 
man, and to tlie amusement of all present.* 

In the early part of the year 1S05, a portion of tht 
Shavvanoe nation, residing at the Tawa towns on the 
headwaters of liie Auglaize river, wishing to re-assem- 
ble their scattered people, sent a deputation to Tecum- 
seh and his party, (then living on White river,) and also 
to a body of the same tribe upon the Mississiniway, 
another tributary of the Wabash, inviting them to re 
move to the Tawa towns, and join their brethren at that 
place. To this proposition both parties assented ; and 
the two bands met at Greenville, on their way thither 
There, through the influence of Laulewasikaw, they 
concluded to establish themselves ; and accordingly the 
project of gomg to the Auglaize was abandoned. Very 
soon afterwards, Laulewasikaw assumed the office of 
a prophet ; and forthwith commenced that career of 
cunning and pretended sorcery, which enabled him to 
sway the Indian mind in a wonderful degree, and win 
for himself a name on the page of history. A concise 
notice of his prophetical achievements is subjoined. 
While it serves to display his individual character and 
endowments, it also presents an interesting and instruc- 
tive phase of aboriginal character. 

It happened about this time that an old Shawanoe, 
named Penagashega, or the Change of Feathers, who 
had for some years been engaged in the respectable 
calling of a prophet, fell sick and died. Laulewasi- 
kaw, who had marked the old man's influence with the 
Indians, adroitly caught up the mantle of the dying 
prophet, and assumed his sacred office. He changed 
liis name from Laulewasikaw, to Tenskwautawau, t 
meaning the Open Door, because he undertook to point 
out to the Indians the new modes of life which they 
should pursue. In the month of November, of this 
year, he assembled a considerable number of Shawa- 
noes, Wyandots, Ottaways and Senecas, at Wapako- 
natta, on the Auglaize river, when he unfolded to them 



* James Galloway. 

f In the remaining pages of this work this person will be called the 
Prophet, the name by which he is most generally known. 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 87 

the new character with which he was clothed, and 
made his first pubHc effort in that career of rehgious 
imposition, which, in a few years, was felt by the 
remote tribes of the npper lakes, and on the broad 
plains which stretch beyond the Mississippi. At this 
lime nothing, it is believed, was said by him in regard to 
the grand confederacy of the tribes, for the recovery of 
their lands, which shortly afterwards became an object 
of ambition with his brother ; and, in the furtherance of 
which he successfully exerted his power and influence, 
as a prophet. In this assemblage he declaimed against 
witchcraft, which many of the Indians practised and 
still more believed. He pronounced that those who 
continued bewitched, or exerted their arts on others, 
would never go to heaven nor see the Great Spirit. 
He next took np the subject of drunkenness, against 
which he harangued with great force ; and, as appeared 
subsequently, with much success. He told them that 
since he had become a prophet, he went up into the 
clouds ; that the first place he came to was the dwelling 
of the Devil, and that all who had died drunkards were 
there, with flames issuing out of their mouths. He 
acknowledged that he had himself been a drunkard, 
but that this awful scene had reformed him. Such 
was the effect of his preaching against this pernicious 
vice, that many of his followers became alarmed, and 
ceased to drink the -' fire-water," a name by which 
whiskey is significantly called among the Indians. 
He likewise declaimed against the custom of Indian 
women intermarrying with white men, and denounced 
it as one of the causes of their unhappiness. Among 
other doctrines of his new code, he insisted on a com- 
munity of property — a very comfortable regulation for 
those, who like himself, were too indolent to labor for 
the acquisition of it. A more salutary and rational 
precept, and one which he enforced with considerable 
energy, was the duty of the young, at all times and 
under all circumstances, to support, cherish and respect 
the aged and infirm. He declaimed with vehemence 
against all innovations in the original dress and habits 
of the Indians — dwelt upon the high claims of the 
Shawanoes to superiority over other tribes, and prom- 



88 LIFE OF TECUMStH. 

ised to all bis followers, who would believe his doc- 
trines and practice his precepts, the comforts and hap- 
piness which their forefathers enjoyed before they weie 
debased by their connection with the whites. And 
finally proclaimed, with much solemnity, that he had 
received power from the Great Spirit, to cure all dis- 
eases, to confound his enemies, and stay the arm of 
death, in sickness, or on the battle field. 

Such is the superstitious creduUty of the Indians, thnt 
this crafty impostor not only succeeded for a time, in 
correcting many of the vices of his followers, but like- 
wise influenced them to the perpetration of outrages 
upon each other, shocking to humanity. If an individ- 
ual, and especially a chief, was supposed to be hostile 
to his plans, or doubted the vahdity of his claim to the 
character of a prophet, he was denounced as a witch, 
and the loss of reputation, if not of life, speedily follow- 
ed. Among the first of his victims were several Dela- 
wares, — Tatepocoshe (more generally known as Tete- 
boxti,) Patterson, his nephew, Coltos, an old woman, 
and an aged man called Joshua. These were success- 
ively marked by the Prophet, and doomed to be burnt 
alive. The tragedy was commenced with the old wo- 
man. The Indians roasted her slowly over a fire for 
four days, calling upon her frequently to deliver up her 
charm and medicine bag. Just as she was dying, she 
exclaimed that her grandson, who was then out hunt- 
mg, had it in his possession. Messengers were sent 
in pursuit of him, and when found he was tied and 
brought into camp. He acknowledged that on one 
occasion he had borrowed the charm of his grandmo- 
ther, by means of which he had flown through the air, 
over Kentucky, to the banks of the Mississippi, and 
back again, between twilight and bed-time ; but he in- 
sisted that he had returned the charm to its owner ; and 
after some consultation, he was set at liberty. The 
following day, a coimcil was held over the case of the 
venerable chief Tatepocoshe, he being present. His 
death was decided upon after full deliberation; and, 
arrayed in his finest apparel, he calmly assisted in 
building his own funeral pile, fully aware that there 
was no escape from the judgment that had been passed 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 89 

upon him The respect due to his whitened locks, in- 
duced his executioners to treat him with mercy. He 
was dehberately tomahawked by a young man, and 
his body was then placed upon the blazing faggots and 
consumed. The next day, the old preacher Joshua, 
met a similar fate. The v/ife of Tatepocoshe, and his 
nephew Billy Patterson, were then brought into the 
council house, and seated side by side. The latter had 
led an irreproachable life, and died like a christian, 
singing and praying amid the flames which destroyed 
his body. While preparations were making for the 
immolation of Tatepocoshe's wife, her brother, a youth 
of twenty years of age, suddenly started up, took her 
by the hand, and to the amazement of the council, led 
her out of the house. He soon returned, and exclaim- 
ing, " the devil has come among us, (alluding to the 
Prophet) and we are killing each other," he re-seated 
himself in the midst of the crowd. This bold step 
checked the wild frenzy of the Indians, put an end to 
these cruel scenes, and for a time greatly impaired the 
impostor's influence among the Delawares. 

The benevolent policy of the governor of Indiana 
Territory (William Henry Harrison,) towards the In- 
dian tribes, had given him much influence over them. 
Early hi the year 1806, and so soon as he had heard 
of the movements of the Prophet, and the delusion of 
the Delawares in regard to witchcraft, he sent a special 
messenger to them with the following speech. Had it 
reached them a little earlier, it would probably have 
saved the life of the aged Tatepocoshe. 

" My Children : — My heart is filled with grief, and 
my eyes are dissolved in tears, at the news which has 
reached me. You have been celebrated for your- wis- 
dom above all the tribes of red people who inhabit this 
great island. Your fame as warriors has extended to 
the remotest nations, and the wisdom of your chiefs 
has gained for you the appellation of grandfathers, 
from all the neighboring tribes. From what cause, 
then, does it proceed, that you have departed from the 
wise counsels of your fathers, and covered yourselves 
with guilt? My children, tread back the steps you 
have taken, and endeavor to regain the straight road 

H 2 



90 LIFE OP TECUMSEH. 

which you have abandoned. The dark, crooked and 
thorny one which you are now pursuing, will certainly 
lead to endless woe and misery. Bat who is this pre- 
tended prophet, who dares to speak in the name of the 
Great Creator } Examine him. Is he more wise or 
virtuous than you are yourselves, that he should be se- 
lected to convey to you the orders of your God ? De- 
mand of him some proofs at least, of his being the 
messenger of the Deity. If God has really employed 
him, he has doubtless authorized him to perform mira- 
cles, that he may be known and received as a prophet. 
If he is really a prophet, ask of him to cause the sun 
to stand still — the moon to alter its course — the rivers 
to cease to iiow — or the dead to rise from their graves. 
If he does these things, you may then believe that he 
has been sent from God. He tells you that the Great 
Spirit commands you to punish with death those who 
deal in magic ; and that he is authorized to point them 
out. Wretched delusion ! Is then the Master of Life 
obliged to employ mortal man to punish those who of- 
fend him ? Has he not the thunder and all the powers 
of nature at his command ? — and could he not sweep 
away from the earth a whole nation with one motion 
of his arm ? My children : do not believe that the great 
and good Creator of mankind has directed you to de- 
stroy your own flesh ; and do not doubt but that if you 
pursue this abominable wickedness, his vengeance will 
overtake and crush you. 

" The above is addressed to you in the name of the 
Seventeen Fires. I now speak to you from myself, as 
a friend who wishes nothing more sincerely than to 
see you prosperous and happy. Clear your eyes, I be- 
seech, you, from the mist which surrounds them. No 
longer be imposed upon by the arts of an impostor. 
Drive him from your town, and let peace and harmony 
once more prevail amongst you. Let your poor old 
men and women sleep in quietness, and banish from 
their minds the dreadful idea of being burnt alive by 
their own friends and countrymen. I charge you to 
stop your bloody career ; and if you value the friend- 
ship of your great father, the President — if you wish 
to preserve the good opinion of the Seventeen Fires, 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 91 

let me hear by the return of the bearer, that you have 
determined to follow my advice."* 

Among the Miamis, the Prophet was less successful 
in establishing an influence than with the Delawares; 
while over the Kickapoos he gained, for a time, a re- 
markable ascendency, — greater, indeed, than he ever 
established in his own tribe. Most of the Shawanoe 
chiefs were opposed to him, and even complained to 
the agent at fort Wayne, that his conduct was creating 
difficulties among the Indians. 

We have met with no evidence thatTecumseh favor- 
ed the destruction of the Delawares, whose unhappy 
fate has been detailed. On the contrary, it is stated 
by a credible authority ,t that he was opposed to it. 

Throughout the year 1806, the brothers remained 
at Greenville, and were visited by many Indians from 
different tribes, not a few of whom became their follow- 
ers. The Prophet dreamed many wonderful dreams; 
and claimed to have had many supernatural revelations 
made to him. The great eclipse of the sun which oc- 
curred in the summer of this year, a knowledge of 
which he had by some means attained, enabled him to 
carry conviction to the minds of many of his ignorant 
followers, that he was really the earthly agent of the 
Great Spirit. He boldly announced to the unbelievers, 
that on a certain day, he would give them proof of his 
supernatural powers, by bringing darkness over the 
sun. When the day and hour of the eclipse arrived, 
and the earth, even at mid-day, was shrouded in the 
gloom of twilight, the Prophet, standing in the midst 
of his party, significantly pointed to the heavens, and 
cried out, "did I not prophecy truly? Behold! dark- 
ness has shrouded the sun!" It may readily be sup- 
posed that this striking phenomenon, thus adroitly 
used, produced a strong impression on the Indians, and 
greatly increased their belief in the sacred character of 
their Prophet. 

In April, 1807, Tecumseh and his brother had as- 
sembled at Greenville about four hundred Indians, 
most of them highly excited by religious fanaticism; 

» Quoted from Dawson's Historical Narrative of the civil and military 
•ervices of VYilliam Henry Harrison. 



92 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

and ready, it was feared, for any enterprise on which 
these brothers might be disposed to lead them. Con- 
siderable apprehension was entertained for the safety 
of the frontiers, and several fruitless eftbrts were made 
to ascertain the ulterior objects of the leaders. William 
Wells, then Indian agent at fort Wayne, desp^^tched 
Anthony Shane, a half-blood Shawanoe, with a com- 
munication to Tecumseh and the Prophet, requesting 
them and two other of their chiefs, to visit him at fort 
Wayne, that he might read to them a letter which he 
had just received from their great father, the President 
of the United States. 

A council being called, Shane made known the ob- 
ject of his mission. Tecumseh, without consulting 
with those around him, immediately arose and said to 
the messenger, " go back to fort Wayne, and tell captain 
Wells, that my fire is kindled on the spot appointed by 
the Great Spirit above ; and, if he has any thing to 
communicate to me, he must come here : — I shall ex- 
pect him in six days from this time." With this laco- 
nic, but dignified reply, the conference ended. The 
agent at fort Wayne declined waiting on Tecumseh, in 
person, but on the appointed day, sent Shane back to 
Greenville, with a copy of the President's communica- 
tion, contained in a letter from the Secretary at War ; 
the substance of which was, that Tecumseh and his 
party being established within the hmits of the gover- 
nor's purchase from the Indians, they were desired to 
remove to some point beyond the boundaries agreed 
upon by the treaty of Greenville ; and, in case of iheir 
compliance, the government would afford them assist- 
ance, until they were properly established at their new 
post. A second council was assembled, and the com- 
munication fully interpreted to those present. Tecum- 
seh felt indignant that captain Wells had not visited 
him in person. He arose deeply excited, and turning 
to his followers, addressed them in a long, glowing and 
impassioned speech, in which he dwelt upon the inju- 
ries the Indians had received from the whites, and 
especially the continued encroachments of the latter 
upon the lands of the red men: "These lands," said he 
in conclusion, " are ours : no one has a right to remove 



LIFE OP TECUMSEH. 93 

j US, because we were the first owners ; the Great Spirit 
I above has appointed this place for us, on which to hght 
;our fires, and here we will remain. As to boundaries, 
jthe Great Spirit above knows no boundaries, nor will 
his red people acknowledge any." 

' Of this speech no copy has been preserved. Shane 
'speaks of it as a masterpiece of Indian eloquence — 
ibold, argumentative and powerful. It was delivered 
(with great vehemence, and deep indignant feeling. 
After a moment's pause, Tecumseh turned to the mes- 
senger and said, with that stately indifference of man- 
Iner, which he could so gracefully assume when in 
council, '• if my great father, the President of the Sev- 
ienteen Fires, has any thing more to say to me, he must 
jsend a man of note as his messenger. I will hold no 
jfnrther intercourse with captain Wells." 
I The Prophet, who seldom lost an opportunity of 
■vaunting himself before his followers, then rose, and 
addressing captain Shane, said, "why does not the 
Pi .^sident send to us the greatest man in his nation ? 1 
can talk to him — I can bring darkness between him and 
me — nay more, I can bring the sun under my feet, and 
what white man can do this,?'' Witli this self-glorifi- 
cation, the council terminated. 

The excitement continued to increase, and at the 
lose of May, it was estimated by the agent at fort 
Wayne, that not less than fifteen hundred Indians, had 
within a short time, passed and repassed that fort, in 
making visits to the Prophet. Many of these were 
from distant points on the lakes. Councils were assem- 
bled, runners with pipes and belts of wampum, went 
from tribe to tribe, and strong evidence of some uncom- 
mon movement among the Indians became quite ap- 
parent. The British agents were active in fomentmg 
^.his excitement, and in extending the influence of Te- 
cumseh and his brother, whose ulterior objects were 
carefully concealed from the agents of the United 
States, and such Indian chiefs as were known to be 
friendly to our government. 

In the month of August, on the testimony of several 
persons familiar with Indian affairs, then residing in the 
north-western portions of the state, the Indians at fort 



94 LIFE OP TECUMSEH. 

Wayne and at Greenville, who were supposed to be 
under the influence of the Prophet, amounted to be- 
tween seven and eight hundred, most of them equipped 
with new rifles. These facts being communicated to 
the governor of Ohio, he directed his attention to the 
subject, and, in the early part of September, despatch- 
ed Thomas Worthington and Duncan McArthur, to 
Greenville, for the purpose of holding a conference 
with the Prophet and Tecumseh, and ascertaining the 
object of their assembling so large a body of Indians, 
within the limits of the cession of land made by them 
at the treaty of 1795. These commissioners left Chilli- 
cothe on the 8th of September, and reached Greenville 
on the 12th, where they were courteously received by 
the Indians. They were fortunate in securing the ser- 
vices of Stephen Ruddell, as their interpreter, who had 
resided for seventeen years among the Indians, and 
was familiar with the Shawanoe language. On the 
day of their arrival, the commissioners were invited to 
a general council of the Indians, at Avhich the letter of 
the governor was read, and interpreted to the Shawa- 
noes, Potawatamies and Chippewas. This was fol- 
lowed by an address from the commissioners, referring 
to the past relations between the United States and the 
Indians, the pohcy pursued towards the latter by Great 
Britain, and the importance of their remaining neutral 
in case of a war between that country and the United 
States. On the following day, Blue Jacket, who, i1 
was announced, had been authorized by all the Indians 
present, to speak for them, replied to the commissionen 
as follows : 

V "Brethren — We are seated who heard you yester- 
day. You will get a true relation, as far as we anc 
our connections can give it, who are as follows : Shaw- 
anoes, Wyandots, Potawatamies, Tawas, Chippewas 
Winnepaus, Malominese, Malockese, Secawgoes, anc 
one more from the north of the Chippewas. Brethrer 
— you see all these men sitting before you, who now 
speak to you. 

"About eleven days ago we had a council, at whicl 
the tribe of Wyandots, (the elder brother of the rec 
people) spoke and said God had kindled a fire and al 



i.IFE 01' Tl-:Ci;.MSEH. 95 

sat around it. In this council we talked over the trea- 
ties with the French and the Americans. The Wyan- 
dot said, the French formerly marked a line along the 
Alleghany mountains, southerly, to Charleston, (S. C.) 
No man was to pass it from either side. When the 
Americans came to settle over the line, the English 
told the Indians to unite and drive off the French, until 
the war came on between the British and the Ameri- 
cans, when it was told them that king George, b}^ his 
officers, directed them to unite and drive the Americans 
back. 

"After the treaty of peace between the English and 
Americans, the summer before Wayne's army came 
out, the English held a council with the Indians, and 
told them if they would turn out and unite as one man, 
they might surround the Americans like deer in a ring 
of fire and destroy them all. The Wyandot spoke fur- 
ther in the council. We see, said he, there is like to 
be war between the English and our white brethren, 
the Americans. Let us unite and consider the suffer- 
ings we have undergone, from interfering in the wars 
of the English. They have often promised to help us, 
and at last, when we could not withstand the army 
that came against us, and went to the English fort for 
refuge, the English told us, " I cannot let you in ; you 
are painted too much, my children." It was then we 
saw the British dealt treacherously with us. We now 
see them going to war again. We do not know what 
they are going to fight for. Let us, my brethren, not 
interfere, was the speech of the Wyandot. 

" Further, the Wyandot said, I speak to you, my lit- 
tle brother, the Shawanoes at Greenville, and to you, 
our little brothers all around. You appear to be at 
Greenville to serve the Supreme. Ruler of the uni- 
verse. Now send forth your speeches to all our 
brethren far around us, and let us unite to seek for that 
which shall be for our eternal welfare, and unite our- 
selves in a band of perpetual brotherhood. These, 
brethren, are the sentiments of all the men who sit 
around you : they all adhere to what the elder brother, 
the Wyandot, has said, and these are their sentiments. 
[t is not that they are afraid of their white brethren, 



96 LIFE or TECUMSEH. 

but that they desu-e peace and harmony, and not that 
their white brethren could put them to great necessity, 
for their former arms were bows and arrows, by which 
they got their living." «' 

The commissioners made some explanations in 
reply, when they were told that the Prophet would 
as5>ign the reasons Avhy the Indians had settled at 
Greenville. "He then proceeded to inform us," says 
the report, " that about three years since, he became 
convinced of the error of his ways, and that he would 
be destroyed from the face of the earth, if he did not 
amend them ; that it was soon after made known to 
him what he should do to be right ; that from that time 
he constantly preached to his red brethren the misera- 
ble situation they were in by nature, and endeavored 
to convince them that they must change their lives, 
live honestly, and be just in all their dealings, kind to- 
wards one another, and their white brethren : affection- 
ate towards their families, put away lying and slander- 
ing, and serve the Great Spirit in the way he had point- 
ed out ; never think of war again ; that at first the Lord 
did not give them the tomahawk to go to war with one 
another. His red brethren, the chiefs of the Shawanoes 
at Tawa town, would not listen to him, but persecuted 
him. This produced a division in the nation ; those 
who adhered to him, separated themselves from their 
brethren at Tawa town, removed with and settled 
where he now was, and where he had constantly 
preached the above doctrines to all the strangers who 
came to see them. They did not remove to this place 
because it was a pretty place, or very valuable, for it 
was neither ; but because it was revealed to him that 
the place was a proper one to establish his doctrines ; 
that he meant to adhere to them while he lived ; they 
were not his own, nor were they taught him by man, 
but by the Supreme Ruler of the universe ; that his 
future life should prove to his white brethren the sincer- 
ity of his professions. He then told us that six chiefs 
should go with us to Chillicothe." 

The commissioners left Greenville entirely con- 
vinced of the sincerity of the Prophet in his de- 
claration of pacific intentions towards the United 



% 

LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 97 

States.^ Four chiefs, Tecnmseh, Blue Jacket, Sti-agh- 
ta, (or Roundhead) and Panther, accompanied them 
to the seat of government, for the purpose of holding a 
conference with the governor; and giving him assur- 
ances that the Indians were not assembhng at Green- 
ville for the purpose of making war upon the frontiers. 
These chiefs remained about a week in Chillicothe, in 
the course of which a public council was held between 
them and the governor. Stephen Ruddell acted as the 
interpreter. Tecumseh was the principal speaker ; and 
in the course of the conference, made a speech which 
occupied three hours in the dehvery. 

His great object was to prove the nullity of the trea- 
ties under which the whites claimed the country north 
and west of the Ohio. He seemed to have a familiar 
knowledge of all the treaties made with the western 
tribes ; reviewed them in their order, and with the most 
intense bitterness and scorn, denounced them as null 
and void. This speech is described by one t who heard 
it, as possessing all the characteristics of a high effort 
of oratory. The utterance of the speaker was rapid 
and vehement ; his manner bold and commanding ; his 
gestures impassioned, quick and violent, and his coun- 
tenance indicating that there was something more in 
his mind, struggling for utterance, than he deemed it 
prudent to express. While he fearlessly denied the 
validity of these pretended treaties, and openly avow- 
ed his intention to resist the further extension of the 
white settlements upon the Indian lands, he disclaimed 
all intention of making war upon the United States. 
The result was, a conviction on the part of the gover- 
nor, that no immediate danger was to be apprehended 
from the Indians, at Greenville and fort Wayne ; and, 
as a consequence, the militia which had been called in- 
to service were ordered to be disbanded, and the chiefs 
returned to their head quarters. 

In the autumn of this year, a white man by the 
name of Myers, was killed a few miles west of where 

* See Report of Commissioners^ to governor Kirker, 22(1 Sept. 1807, 
published in the United States Gazette, for that year. 

f John A. Fulton, formerly mayor of Chillicothe, communicated by 
general James T. Worthington. 

I 



98 LIFE OF TECUMSEH 

the town of Urbana now stands, by some straggling 
Indians. This murder, taken in connection with the 
assemblage of the Indians under Tecumseh and the 
Prophet, created a great alarm on the frontier, and ac- 
tually induced many families to remove back to Ken 
tucky, from whence they had emigrated. A demand 
was made by the whites upon these two brothers for 
the Indians who had committed the murder. They 
denied that it was done by their party, or with their 
knowledge, and declared that they did not even know 
who the murderers were. The alarm continued, and 
some companies of militia were called out. It was 
finally agreed, that a council should be held on the 
subject in Springfield, for the purpose of quieting the 
settlements. General Whiteman, major Moore, cap- 
tain Ward and one or two others, acted as commission- 
ers on the part of the whites. Two parties of Indians 
attended the council; one from the north, in charge 
of McPherson ; the other, consisting of sixty or seven 
ty, came from the neighborhood of fort Wayne, under 
the charge of Tecumseh. Roundhead, Blackfish, and 
several other chiefs, were also present. There was no 
friendly feeling between these two parties, and each 
was willing that the blame of the murder should be 
fixed upon the other. The party under McPherson, in 
compliance with the wishes of the commissioners, left 
their arms a few miles from Sprhigfield. Tecumseh 
and liis party refused to attend the council, unless per- 
mitted to retain their arms. After the conference was 
opened, it being held in a maple grove, a little north of 
where Werden's hotel now stands, the commissioners, 
fearing some violence, made another effort to induce 
Tecumseh to lay aside his arms. This he again refus- 
ed, saying, in reply, that his tomahawk was also his 
pipe, and that he might wish to use it in that capaci- 
ty before their business was closed. At this moment, 
a tall, lank-sided Pennsylvanian, who was standing 
among the spectators, and who, perhaps, had no love 
for the shining tomahawk of the self-willed chief, cau- 
tiously approached, and handed him an old, long stem- 
med, dirty looking earthen pipe, intimating, that if Te- 
cumseh would deliver up the fearful tomahawk, he 



LIFE OF TECUMSEII. 99 

might smoke the aforesaid pipe. The chief took it be- 
tween his thumb and linger, held it up, looked at it for 
a moment, then at the owner, who was gradually rece- 
ding from the pomt of danger, and immediately threw 
it, with an indignant sneer, over his head, into the 
bushes. The commissioners yielded the point, and 
proceeded to business. 

Alter a full and patient enquiry into the facts of the 
case, it appeared that the murder of Myers, was the 
act of an individual, and not justly chargeable upon 
either party of the Indians. Several speeches were 
made by the chiefs, but Tecumseh was the principal 
speaker. He gave a full explanation of the views of 
the Prophet and himself, in calling around them a band 
of Indians — disavowed all hostile intentions towards 
the United States, and denied that he or those under 
his control had committed any aggressions upon the 
whites. His manner, when speaking, was animated, 
fluent and rapid, and made a strong impression upon 
those present. The council terminated. In the course 
of it, the two hostile parties became reconciled to each 
other, and quiet was restored to the frontier. 

The Indians remained in Springfield for three days, 
and on several occasions amused themselves by engag- 
ing in various games and other athletic exercises, in 
which Tecumseh generally proved himself victorious. 
His strength, and power of muscular action, were re- 
markably great, and in the opinion of those who at- 
tended the council, corresponded with the high order 
of his moral and intellectual character.* 

* Dr. Hunt. 



100 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 



CHAPTER V 



Governor Harrison's address to the Shawanoe chiefs at Greenville — the 
Prophet's reply — his influence felt among the remote tribes — he is visit- 
ed in 1808 by great numbers of Indians — Tecumseh and the Prophet 
remove to Tippecanoe — the latter sends a speech to governor Harrison 
— makes him a visit at Vincennes. 

The alarm caused by the assembling of the Indians 
at Greenville, still continuing, governor Harrison, in 
the autumn of this year, sent to the head chiefs of the 
Shawanoe tribe, by John Conner, one of our Indian 
agents, the following address : — 

" My Children — Listen to me, I speak in the name 
of your father, the great chief of the Seventeen Fires. 

" My children, it is now twelve years since the toma- 
hawk, which you had raised by the advice of your 
father, the king of Great Britain, was buried at Green- 
ville, in the presence of that great warrior, general 
Wayne. 

"My children, you then promised, and the Great 
Spirit heard it, that you would in future live in peace 
and friendship with your brothers, the Americans. You 
made a treaty with your father, and one that contained 
a number of good things, equally beneficial to ail the 
tribes of red people, who were parties to it. 

"My children, you promised in that treaty to ac- 
knowledge no other father than the chief of the Seven- 
teen Fires; and never to listen to the proposition of 
any foreign nation. You promised never to lift up the 
tomahawk against any of your father's children, and 
to give him notice of any other tribe that intended it : 
your father also promised to do something for you, 
particularly to deliver to you, every year, a certain 
quantity of goods; to prevent any white man from 
settling on your lands without your consent, or to do 
you any personal injury. He promised to run a line 
between your land and his, so that you might know 
your own ; and you were to be permitted to live and 
hunt upon your father's land, as long as you behaved 
yourselves well. My children, which of these articles 
has your father broken ? You know that he has ob- 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 101 

served them all with the utmost good faith. But, my 
children, have you done so ? Have you not always 
had your ears open to receive bad advice from the 
white people beyond the lakes ? 

" My children, let us look back to times that are past. 
It has been a long time since you called the king of 
Great Britain, father. You know that it is the duty of 
a father to watch over his children, to give them good 
advice, and to do every thing in his power to make 
them happy. What has this father of yours done for 
you, during the long time that you have looked up to 
him for protection and advice? Are you wiser and 
happier than you were before you knew him; or is 
your nation stronger or more respectable ? No, my 
children, he took you by the hand when you were a 
powerful tribe ; you held him fast, supposing he was 
your friend, and he conducted you through paths filled 
with thorns and briers, which tore your tlesh and shed 
your blood. Your strength was exhausted, and you 
could no longer follow him. Did he stay by you in 
your distress, and assist and comfort you ? No, he led 
you into danger, and then abandoned you. He saw 
your blood flowing and he would give you no bandage 
to tie up your wounds. This was the conduct of the 
man who called himself your father. The Great Spirit 
opened your eyes ; you heard the voice of the chief of 
the Seventeen Fires, speaking the words of peace. He 
called to you to follow him ; you came to him, and he 
once more put you on the right way, on the broad 
smooth road that would have led to happiness. But the 
voice of your deceiver is again heard ; and forgetful of 
your former sufferings, you are again listening to him. 

" My children, shut your ears, and mind him not, or 
he will lead you to ruin and misery. 

" My children, I have heard bad news. The sacred 
spot where the great council fire was kindled, around 
which the Seventeen Fires and ten tribes of their chil- 
dren, smoked the pipe of peace — that very spot where 
the Great Spirit saw his red and white children encircle 
themselves with the chain of friendship — that place has 
been selected for dark and bloody councils. 

<^ My children, this business must be stopped. You 
I 2 



108 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

Imve called in a number of men from the most distant 
tribes, to listen to a fool, who speaks not the words of 
the Great Spirit, but those of the devil, and of the British 
agents. My children, your conduct has much alarmed 
the white setders near you. They desire that you will 
send away those people, and if they wish to have the 
impostor with them, they can carry him. Let him go 
to the lakes; he can hear the British more distinctly." 

At the time of the delivery of this speech, the head 
chiefs of the Shawanoes were absent from Greenville. 
The Prophet, after listening patiently to it, requested 
the interpreter to write down the following answer, 
which was transmitted to the governor. 
y " Father, — I am very sorry that you listen to the ad- 
vice of bad birds. You have impeached me with hav- 
ing correspondence with the British ; and with calling 
and sending for the Indians from the most distant part 
of the country, " to listen to a fool that speaks not the 
words of the Great Spirit, but the words of the devil.'^ 
Father, those impeachments I deny, and say they are 
not true. I never had a word with the British, and I 
never sent for any Indians. They came here them- 
selves to listen, and hear the words of the Great Spirit. 

" Father, I wish you would not listen any more to 
the voice of bad birds ; and yon may rest assured that 
it is the least of our idea to make disturbance, and we 
will rather try to stop any such proceedings than to 
encourage them.'" i^ 

The appeal of the governor, as may be inferred from 
the evasive and cunning answer of the Prophet, pro- 
duced no change in his measures, nor did it arrest the 
spread of the fanaticism among the Indians Avhich his 
incantations had set afloat. The happiness of the In- 
dians was the great idea which Tecumseh and his bro- 
ther promnlgated among their followers as being the 
object of their labors. This was to be attained by 
leading more virtuous lives, by retaining their lands, 
and in simply doing what the government of the Uni- 
ted States had frequently urged upon them, eflecting 
an extended and friendly union of the different tribes. 
These plausible reasons, backed by the superstitious 
belief of the Indians in the inspired character of the 



LIFE OF 'lECUMSEH. 103 

Prophet, and the insidious elibrts of the British agents, 
in fornenthig discontent among them, were sufficient to 
keep ahve tlie excitement, and even extend the circle 
of its influence. Thus ended the year 1807. 

Tiie reader may learn the extraordinary success of 
the Prophet in spreading his influence among the re- 
mote tribes, by a reference to the narrative of Mr. Jolni 
Taimer. This man had been taken captive in Boone 
county, Kentucky, when a boy ; had been raised by 
the Indians, and was at this time, living among the 
Ojibbeways, who reside far up the lakes. 

News reached that remote tribe that a great man 
had arisen among the Shawanoes, who had been fa- 
vored by a revelation of the mind and will of the Great 
Spirit. The messenger bearing this information to 
them, seemed deeply penetrated with the sacred char- 
acter of his mission. Upon his arrival among them, 
he announced himself after a mysterious silence, as the 
forerunner of the great Prophet, who was shortly to 
shake hands with the Ojibbeways, and explain to them 
more fully his inspired character, and the new mode of 
life and conduct which they were hereafter to pursue. 
He then gravely repeated to them the Prophet^s sys- 
tem of morals ; and in a very solemn manner, enjoined 
its observance. So strong was the impression made 
upon the principal men of the Ojibbeways, that a time 
was appointed and a lodge prepared for the public 
espousal of these doctrines. When the Indians were 
assembled in the new lodge, *«we saw something," 
says Mr. Tanner, " carefully concealed under a blan- 
ket, in figure and dimensions bearing some resem- 
blance to a man. This was accompanied by two young 
men, who, it was understood, attended constantly upon 
it, made its bed at night, as for a man, and slept near 
it. But while we remained, no one went near to it, or 
raised the blanket which was spread over its unknown 
contents. Four strings of mouldy and discolored beads 
were all the visible insignia of this important mission. 

"After a long harangue, in which the prominent 
features of the new revelation were stated, and urged 
upon the attention of all, the four strings of beads, 
which we were told were made of the flesh of tlie Pro- 



104 LTFK OF TECUMSEH. 

phet, were carried with much solemnity, to each man 
in the lodge, and he was expected to take hold of each 
string at the top. and draw them gently through his 
hand. This was called sliaking hands witli the Pro- 
phet, and was considered as solemnly engaging to obey 
his injunctions, and accept of his mission as from the 
Supreme. AH the Indians who touched the beads had 
previously killed their dogs ; they gave up their medi- 
cine bags, and showed a disposition to comply with all 
that should be required of them.'' 

The excitement among the Ojibbeways continued 
for some time ; they assembled in groups, their faces 
wearing an aspect of gloom and anxiety, while the 
active sunk into indolence, and the spirit of the bravest 
warriors was subdued. The influence of the Prophet, 
says Mr. Tanner, " was very sensibly and painfully felt 
by the remotest Ojibbeways of whom I had any know- 
ledge ; but it was not the common impression among 
them, that his doctrines had any tendency to unite them 
in the accomplishment of any human purpose. For 
two or three years drunkenness was much less fre- 
quent than formerly; war was less thought of; and 
the entire aspect of things among them was changed 
by the influence of this mission. But in time these 
new impressions were obliterated ; medicine-bags, flints 
and steels, the use of which had been forbidden, were 
brought into use ; dogs were reared, women and chil- 
dren beaten as before ; and the Shawanoe Prophet was 
despised." 

With the beginning of the year 1808, great numbers 
of Indians came down from the lakes, on a visit to the 
Prophet, where they remained until their means of sub- 
sistence were exhausted. The governor of Indiana, 
with the prudence and humanity which marked his 
administration, directed the agent at fort Wayne, to 
supply them with provisions from the public stores at 
that place. This was done, and from his intercourse 
with them he came to the conclusion that they had no 
hostile designs against the United States. About this 
time, Tecumseh made a visit to the Mississinaway 
towns, the immediate object of which could not be 
clearly ascertained. That it was connected witli tho 



LIFE OF TECUMSEII. 105 

grand scheme in which he was engaged, is probable 
from the fact that the Indians of that region agreed to 
meet him and the Prophet on the Wabasli, in the fol- 
lowing June, to which place he had at this time resolv- 
ed to move his party. Mr. Jouett, one of the United 
States' Indian agents, apprehended that this meeting 
would result in some hostile action against the fron- 
tiers ; and, as a means of preventing it, and putting an 
end to the influence of the Prophet, reconmiended to 
the governor that he should be seized and confined. 
The proposition, however, was not entertained. 

In the spring of this year, 1808, Tecumseh and the 
Prophet removed to a tract of land granted them by 
the Potawatamies and Kickapoos, on Tippecanoe, one 
of the tributaries of the Wabash river. They had not 
been long at their new residence before it became 
apparent that the Prophet had established a strong in- 
fluence over the minds of the surrounding Indians, and 
there was nmch reason for believing that his views 
weie hostile to the United States. The governor still 
confided in the fidelity of the Delawares and the IMi- 
aiiiis ; but he apprehended, that although disbelievers 
in the Prophet's divine mission, they might be turned 
from the line of duty from a fear of his temporal pow- 
er. When he had established himself upon the banks 
of tlui Tippecanoe, the Prophet drew around him a 
body of northern Indians, principally from the Pota- 
watamies, Ottowas and Chippewas. To this, the Mi- 
amis and DelaAvares had strong objections ; and a de- 
putation of the latter was sent to the Prophet on the 
subject. He refused to see them himself, but Tecum- 
seh met them ; and after a solemn conference, they re- 
turned to their tribe with increased apprehensions of 
the combination at Tippecanoe, which was now unit- 
ing warlike sports with the performance of rehgious 
duties.* The Delawares decided in council to arrest 
the progress of this rising power, but in vain. Strong 
in the moral force with which they were armed, the 
two brothers were not to be driven from their purpose 
of planting the banner of union, which they were now 

* Governor Harrison s Correspondence with the War Department. 



106 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

holding out to the tribes, upon the waters of the Wa- 
bash. The sacred office which the Prophet had impi- 
ously assumed, enabled him to sway many minds, and | 
in doing so, he was efiectively sustained by the per- 1 
sonal presence, tact and sagacity of his brother. From I 
his youth, Tecumseli had been noted for the influence I 
which he exercised over those by whom he was sur- ( 
rounded. Hence, when the chiefs of the Miamis and j 
Dela wares, who were disbelievers in the Prophet's holy i 
character, set out to prevent his removal to the Wa- 
bash, Tecumseh boldly met them, and turned them 
from their purpose. This was done at a moment when 
the number of the Prophet's followers was greatly re- 
duced, as we gather from the statement of the agent, 
John Conner, who in the month of June, of this year, 
visited his settlement on the Wabash to reclaim some 
horses which had been stolen from the whites. At this 
time, the Prophet had not more than forty of his own 
tribe with him ; and less than a hundred from others, 
principally Potawatamies, Chippewas, Ottawas and 
Winebagoes. The Prophet announced his intention 
of making a visit to governor Harrison, for the purpose 
of explaining his conduct, and procuring a supply of 
provisions for his followers. This, he insisted, could 
not be consistently withheld from him, as the white 
people had always encouraged him to preach the word 
of God to the Indians ; and in this holy work he was 
now engaged. 

Some time in the month of July, the governor re- 
ceived a speech from the Prophet, sent to Vincennes 
by a special messenger. It was cautious, artful and 
pacific in its character. It deprecated in strong terms 
the misrepresentations which had been circulated in 
regard to the ulterior objects of the Prophet and his 
brother as to the Avhites ; and renewed the promise of 
an early visit. This visit was made in the month fol- 
lowing, and was continued for two weeks, during which 
time he and the governor had frequent interviews. In 
these, the Prophet, with his characteristic plausibility, 
denied that his course was the result of British influ- 
ence. His sole object, he alleged, was a benevolent 
one towards his red brethren; to reclaim them from the 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 107 

jdegradiiig vices to which they were addicted, and in- 
iduce them to cuhiv^ate a spirit of peace and friendship, 
not only with the white people, but their kindred 
itribes. To this sacred office, he insisted, with much 
learnestness, he had been specially called by the Great 
Spirit. That he might the more successfully enforce 
the sincerity of his views upon the mind of the gover- 
inor, he took occasion several times during the visit, to 
(address the Indians who had accompanied him to Vin- 
cennes, and dwelt upon the great evils resulting to 
jthem from wars, and the use of ardent spirits. It was 
■apparent to the gov^ernor that the Prophet was a man 
of decided talents, of great tact, and admirably quali- 
ified to play successfully, the part he had assumed. In 
(Order to test the extent of his influence over his follow- 
e;s, the governor held conversations with them, and 
s( veral times offered them whiskey, which they inva- 
rialily refused. Looking to that amelioration of the 
condition of the Indians, which had long engaged his 
attention, the governor began to hope that the Pro- 
phet's power over them might be turned to advantage: 
aid that the cause of humanity would be benefited by 
[sustaining rather than trying to weaken the influence 
of the preacher. This impression was much strength- 
ened by the following speech which the Prophet deliv- 
ered to him, before tlie close of the visit. 
^ "Father: — It is three years since I first began with 
that system of religion which I now practice. The 
wiiite people and some of the Indians were against 
me ; but I had no other intention but to introduce 
among the Indians, those good principles of religion 
which the white people profess. I was spoken badly 
of by the white people, who reproached me with mis- 
leading the Indians; but I defy them to say that I did 
any thing amiss. 

" Father, I was told that you intended to hang me. 
When I hoard this, I intended to remember it, and tell 
my fatlier, when I went to see him, and relate to him 
the tniih. 

•'I lieaid. when I settled on the Wabash, that my 
father, the governor, had declared that all the land be- 
itween Vinc-Tujes and fort Wayne, was tlio property of 



lOS LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

tlie Seventeen Fires. I also heard that you wanted tc 
know, my father, whether I was God or man ; anc 
that you said if I was the former, I should not steal 
horses. I heard this from Mr. Wells, but I believed ill 
originated with himself 1 

" The Great Spirit told me to tell the Indians that he! 
had made them, and made the v/orld — that he had 
placed them on it to do good, and not evil. 

'• I told all the red skins, tliat the way they were in 
was not good, and that they ought to abandon it. 

" That we ought to consider ourselves as one man ; 
but we ought to live agreeably to our several customs, 
the red people after their mode, and the white people 
after theirs ; particularly, that they should not drink 
whiskey ; that it was not made for them, but the white 
people, who alone knew how to use it ; and that it is 
the cause of all the mischiefs which the Indians sufl'er; 
and that they must always follow the directions of the 
Great Spirit, and we must listen to him, as it was he 
that made us : determme to listen to nothing tha^t is 
bad : do not take up the tomahawk, should it be offer 
ed by the British, or by the long knives: do not med- 
dle with any thing that does not belong to you, but 
mind your own business, and cultivate the ground, 
that your women and your children may have enough 
to live on. 

" I now inform you, that it is our intention to live 
in peace with our father and his people forever. 

"My father, I have informed you what we mean to 
do, and I call the Great Spirit to witness the truth of 
my declaration. The religion which I have established 
for the last three years, has been attended to by the 
different tribes of Indians in this part of the world. 
Those Indians were once different people ; they are 
now but one: they are all determined to practice what 
I have communicated to them, that has come imme- 
diately from the Great Spirit through me. 

<' Brother, I speak to you as a warrior. You are one. 
But let us lay aside this character, and attend to the 
care of our children, that they may live in comfort and 
peace. We desire that you will join us for tlie preser- 
vation of both red and white people. Formerly, when 



LIFE OF TECU.MSEH. 109 

ve lived in ignorance, we were foolish; but now, 

ince we listen to tiie voice of the Great Spirit, we are 

lappy. 
"I have listened to what you have said to us. Yon 

lave promised to assist us: I now request yon, in bc- 
;ialf of all the red people, to use your exertions to pre- 
irent the sale of liquor to us. We are all well pleased 
■0 hear you say that you will endeavor to promote onr 
iiappiness. We give you every assurance that we will 

bllow the dictates of the Great Spirit. 
i "We are all well pleased with the attention that you 
aave showed us; also with the good intentions of our 
lather, the President. If you give us a few articles, 
buch as needles, flints, hoes, powder, &c., we will take 
Ihe animals that afford us meat, with powder and 

)al!.'V 

(xovernor Harrison, if not deceived by the plausible 
pretences and apparently candid declarations of the 
'Prophet, was left in doubt, whether he was really me- 
ditating hostile movements against the United States, 
'or only laboring, with the energy of an enthusiast, in 
the good work of promoting the welfare of the Indians. 
Having received a supply of provisions, the Prophet 
and his followers, at the end of a fortnight, took leave 
of the governor and returned to their head quarters, on 
the banks of the Tippecanoe. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Tecumseh visits the Wyandots — governor Harrison's letter about the 
Prophet to the Secretary at War — British influence over the Indians — 
Tecumseh bums governor Harrison's letter to the chiefs — great alarm 
in Indiana, in consequence of the assemblage of the Indians at Tippeca- 
noe — death of Lcatherlips, a Wyandot chief, on a charge of witchcraft. 

During the autumn of this year, 1808, nothing ma- 
terial occurred with the Prophet and his brother, calcu- 
lated to throw light upon their conduct. The former 
continued his efforts to induce the Indians to forsake 
their vicious habits. The latter was occupied in visit- 

K 



110 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

mg the ueigliboriiig tribes, ;ind quietly strengthening his 
own and tlie Prophet's inthieiice over them. Early in 
the succeeding year, Tecumseh attended a council of 
Indians, at Sandusky, when he endeavored to prevail 
upon the Wyandots and Senecas to remove and join 
his estabhsiiment at 'I'ippecanoe. Among other rea- 
sons presented in favor of this removal, he stated that 
the country on the Tippecanoe was better than that 
occupied by these tribes ; that it was remote from the 
whites, and that in it they would have more game and 
be happier than where they now resided. In this mis- 
sion he appears not to have been successful. The 
Crane, an old chief of the Wyandot tribe, replied, that 
he feared he, Tecumseh, was working for no good pur- 
pose at Tippecanoe ; that they would wait a few 
years, and then, if they found their red brethren at that 
place contented and happy, they would probably join 
them.* In this visit to Sandusky, Tecumseh was ac- 
companied by captain Lewis, a Shawanoe chief of 
some note, who then engaged to go with him to the 
Creeks and Cherokees, on a mission which he was con- 
templating, and which was subsequently accomphshed. 
Lewis, however, did not finally make the visit, but per- 
mitted Jim Blue Jacket to make the tour in his place. 

In April of the year 1809, the agent of the United 
States at fort Wayne, informed governor Harrison, that 
it had been reported to him that the Chippewas, Pota- 
watamies and Ottawas, were deserting the standard of 
the Prophet, because they had been required to take 
up arms against the whites, and to unite in an efibrt to 
exterminate all the inhabitants of Vincennes, and those 
living on the Ohio, between its mouth and Cincinnati — 
it being the order of the Great Spirit ; and that their 
own destruction would be the consequence of a refusal. 
The agent did not think, however, that hostilities 
were likely to ensue, as he was informed there were 
not more than one hundred warriors remaining with 
the Prophet. The governor, however, had informa- 
tion from other sources, that although there might be 
but that number of warriors at the Prophet's village, 

* Anthony Shane. 



LIVE or TECUMSEH. Ill 

jliere were, within fifty miles of his head-quarters, four 
|>r five times that number, who were devoted to him 
imd to his cause. Under these circumstances, he deci- 
lled to organize forthwith, under previous orders from 
I he War department, two companies of volunteer mi- 
itia, and with tliem to garrison fort Knox — a post 
about two miles from V^incennes — then the general de- 
•)ot of arms and ammunition, for the use of the neigh- 
'Doring militia. The agent at fort Wayne was accord- 
ngly directed by the governor to require the Delaware, 
Miami and Potawatamie tribes, to prevent any hostile 
barties of Indians from passing through their respective 
;;erritories. This they were bound to do, by a stipula- 
i:ion in the treaty of Greenville. But no hostile move- 
ments, (if any had been meditated,) were made by the 
jProphet, and before the close of the month of May, 
jinost of his warriors had dispersed, and all apprehen- 
•sion of an attack from the Indians was dispelled. 
j In the month of July, in reply to a letter from the 
.Secretary of War, on the subject of the defence of the 
ijnoith-Avestern frontier, governor Harrison, in reference 
to the Prophet, says: 

I " The Shawanoe Prophet and about forty followers, 
larrived here about a week ago. He denies most stren- 
uously, any participation in the late combination to 
attack our settlements, which he says was entirely con- 
jfined to the tribes of the Mississippi and Illmois rivers ; 
and he claims the merit of having prevailed upon them 
to relinquish their intentions. 

" I must confess that my suspicions of his guilt have 
been rather strengthened than diminished at every in- 
terview I have had with him since his arrival. He 
acknowledges that he received an invitation to war 
against us, from the British, last fall ; and that he was 
apprised of the intention of the Sacs and Foxes, &c. 
early in the spring, and was warmly solicited to join in 
their league. But he could give no satisfactory expla- 
nation of his neglecting to communicate to me, circum- 
stances so extremely interesting to us; and towards 
which I had a few months before directed his attention, 
and received a solemn assurance of his cheerful compli- 
ance with the injunctions I had impressed upon him. 



112 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

"The result of all my enquiries ou the subject is, that I 
the late combination was produced by British intrigue 
and influence, in anticipation of war between them 
and the United States. It was, however, premature 1 
and ill-judged, and the event sufficiently manifests a 
great dechne in their influence, or in the talents and 
address, with which they have been accustomed to 
manage their Indian relations. 

" The warlike and well armed tribes of the Potawa- 
tamies, Ottawas, Chippewas, Delawares, and Miamis, 
I believe, neither had, nor would have, joined in the 
combination ; and although the Kickapoos, whose war- 
riors are better than those of any other tribe, the rem- 
nant of the Wyandots excepted, are much under the 
influence of the Prophet, I am persuaded that they 
were never made acquainted with his intentions, if 
these were really hostile to the United States.^' 

In the latter part of the year 1809, under instructions^ 
from the President of the United States, governor Har- 
rison deemed the period a favorable one to extinguish 
the Indian title to the lands on the east of the Wabash, 
and adjoining south on the lines established by the 
former treaties of fort Wayne and Grousland. A coun- 
cil was accordingly held, in the latter part of Septem- 
ber, at fort Wayne, with the Miami, Eel river, Dela- 
ware and Potawatamie tribes, which resulted in the 
purchase of the land above mentioned. A separate 
treaty was made with the Kickapoos, who confirmed 
the grants made at the above treaty, and also ceded 
another tract. In making these treaties, governor Har- 
rison invited all those Indians to be present, who were 
considered as having any title to the lands embraced 
within them. 

Throughout the remainder of the year 1809, things 
remained quiet with Tecumseh and the Prophet. The 
number of their followers was again on the increase ; 
and, although no overt acts of hostility against the 
frontier settlements were committed, there was a pre- 
valent suspicion in that quarter, that the Indians enter- 
tained sinister designs towards the whites. The events 
of the early part of the year 1810, were such as to 
leave little doubt of the hostile intentions of the broth- 



< 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 113 

|3rs. In the latter part of April, governor Harrisoi*. 
[was inlbrmed, upon credible authority, that the Pro- 
phet was really instigating the Indians to acts of hos- 
tility against the United States: and that he had under 
his immediate control about four hundred warriors, 
chiefly composed of Kickapoos and Winnebagoes, but 
L.jibracing also some Shawanoes, Potawatamies, Chip- 
pewas, and Ottawas. The traders among them at- 
tributed this hostile feeling to British influence. That 
the followers of the Prophet had received a supply of 
powder and ball from the English agents, was general- 
ly admitted. They refused to buy ammunition from 
our traders, alleging that they were plentifully supplied 
from a quarter where it cost them nothing. About the 
middle of May, it was ascertained that the number of 
w arriors with the Prophet, amounted to more than six 
hundred men, and there were reasons to apprehend 
that his influence had kindled a hostile feeling among 
several of the tribes to the Avest and north of his head 
([uarters. A meeting of Indians having been appoint- 
ed to take place about this time, on the St. Joseph's 
river, governor Harrisoi:^ made an appeal to them 
through the Dela wares, in which he forcibly pointed 
out the unhappy results that would certainly follow 
iiiiy attack upon the United States; and cautioned the 
liiendly tribes, upon the dangers to which they would 
1m- subjected, in consequence of the difficulty of dis- 
criminating between friends and enemies, in case a war 
should occur. In July the governor was authorized 
by the Secretary of War, to take such steps as he might 
deem necessary for the protection of the frontier ; and, 
at the same time was informed that some troops had 
been ordered to Vincennes to keep in chec.^ the hostile 
Indians of that quarter. 

Fresh apprehensions were now felt for the safety of 
the frontiers. The Prophet, it appears, had gained 
over to his cause the Wyandot tribe, whose councils 
had always exerted a strong influence among the Indi- 
ans. To this tribe had been committed the preserva- 
tion of the Great Belt, the symbol of union among the 
tribes in their late war with the United States; and 
also the original duplicate of the Greenvflle treaty of 
k2 



114 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

1795. The Prophet sent a deputation to the Wyan- 
dots requesting permission to examine the provisions 
of that treaty, and artfully expressing his astonishment 
that they, who had ever directed the councils of the 
Indians, and who were ahke renowned for their talents 
and bravery, should remain passive, and see the lands 
of the red men usurped by a part of that race. The 
Wyandots, pleased with these flattering speeches, re- 
plied, that they had carefully preserved the former 
symbol of union among the tribes ; but it had remain- 
ed so long in their hands without being called for, they 
supposed it was forgotten. They further replied, that 
weary of their present situation, they felt desirous of 
seeing all the tribes united in one great confederacy :*^ 
that they would join such a union, and labor to arrest 
the encroachments of the whites upon their lands, and 
if possible recov^er those which had been unjustly tak- 
en from them. This reply of the Wyandots was ex- 
actly suited to the objects of the Prophet; and he lost 
no time in sending his heralds with it, in every direc- 
tion.' The Wyandots soon afterwards made a visit to 
Tippecanoe ; and in passing thither, had a conference 
with some of the Miami chiefs, to whom they showed 
the great belt, and charged them with having joined 
the whites in opposition to their red brethren. The 
Miamis at length concluded to join in a visit to the 
Prophet, and also invited the Weas to join with them. 
About this time, the governor was informed by an 
aged Piankishaw, friendly to the United States, that 
the Prophet had actually formed a plan for destroying 
the citizens of Vincennes by a general massacre ; and 
that he boasted that he would walk in the footsteps of 
the great Pontiac. From another source the governor 
learned that there were probably three hundred Indi- 
ans within thirty miles of the Prophet's quarters ; and 
that although their proceedings were conducted with 
great secrecy, it had been discovered that they were 
determined to stop the United States' surveyors from 
running any lines west of the Wabash. Other eviden- 
ces of approaching hostilities were not wanting. The 
Prophet, and the Kickapoos who were at his village, 
refused to accept the salt which had been sent up to 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 115 

ihem as a part of their annuities, and after it had heen 
put upon the shore, the carriers were not only- required 
to replace it in their boat, but whilst doing so, were 
treated with rudeness, and ordered to take the salt 
back to Vincennes. They were Frenchmen, or in all 
probability they would have been treated still more 
harshly * 

In the early part of July, governor Harrison receiv- 
ed a letter from John Johnston, Indian agent at fort 
Wayne, in which he says : 

"A person just arrived, who it appears has lost him- 
self in his route to Vincennes, affords me an opportu- 
nity of announcing to you my return to this fort. I 
was delayed on my journey in attending to the trans- 
portation of the public goods ; and on my arrival in the 
slate of Ohio, I had learned that the Prophet's brother 
had lately been at work among the SBawanoes, on the 
Auglaize ; and, among other things, had burned your 
letter delivered to the chiefs at this place last fall. I 
accordingly took Wapakonetta in my route home, as- 
sembled the chiefs, and demanded the reason why they 
had suiiered such an improper act to be committed at 
their door. They disavowed all agency in the transac- 
tion, and their entire disapprobation of the Prophet's 
conduct; and concurring circumstances satisfied me 
that they were sincere. The white persons at the 
town informed me that not one of the chiefs would go 
into council with the Prophet's brother, and that it 
was a preacher named Riddle, who took the letter to 
have it interpreted, and that the brother of the Prophet 
took it from his hand, and threw it into the fire, de- 
claring, that if governor Harrison were there, he would 
serve him so. He told the Indians that the white peo- 
ple and the government were deceiving them, and that 
for his part, he never would believe them, or put any 
confidence in. them; that he never would be quiet mitil 
he eifected his purpose ; and that if he was dead, the 
cause would not die with him. He urged the Indians 
to move off to the Mississippi with him, saying, that 
there he would assemble his forces. All his argu- 

* Governor Harrison's letters to the War Department. 



116 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

ments seemed to be bottomed on the prospect of hos 
tilities against our people. He made no impression or 
tlie Shawanoes, and went away much dissatisfied at 
their not coming into his views. I consider them 
among our best friends. I indirectly encouraged theii 
emigration westward, and told them their annuity 
should follow them. Tliey appear determined to re 
main, and are much attached to the town and the im- 
provements, which are considerable." 

Notwithstanding the Prophet appears in all these re- 
cent transactions, to be the prominent individual, it is 
certain that a greater one was behind the scene. In 
the junction of the Wyandots with the Prophet, may 
be seen the result of Tecumseh's visit to that tribe, in 
the previous year, at Sandusky, an account of which 
has been already given. In regard to the salt annuity, 
the Prophet knew not what course to pursue, until he 
had consulted with his brother. Tecumseh, burning the 
governor's letter, and the threat, that if he were present 
he should meet the same fate, were acts in keeping with 
his bold character, and well calculated to maintain his 
ascendancy among the Indians. While the Prophet 
was nominally the head of the new party, and undoubt- 
edly exercised much influence by means of his suppos- 
ed supernatural power, he was but an agent, controlled 
and directed by a master spirit, whose energy, address 
and ceaseless activity, were all directed to the accom- 
plishment of the grand plan to which he had solemnly 
devoted his life. 

The information which flowed in upon governor 
Harrison, from different quarters, relative to the move- 
ments of Tecumseh and the Prophet, and the number 
of their followers, were such as to induce him to make 
the most active preparations to meet the impending 
storm. A meeting of the citizens of Vincennes was 
held on the subject, two companies of militia were 
called into active service, and the rest were directed to 
hold themselves in readiness for the field. Alarm-posts 
were established, and other measures adopted, espe- 
cially for the preservation of Vincennes, which appear- 
ed to have been fixed upon as the first point of attack. 

Toward the close of June, Wirmemac, at the head 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 117 

I of a deputation of Potawatamies, visited the governor 
I at Vincennes, for the purpose of informing him of the 
i decision of a council, held at the St. Joseph's of lake 
j Michigan, whicli had heen attended by all the tribes of 
I that quarter, and by a delegation from the Delawares. 
This deputation was present for the purpose of dissua- 
ding the Indians from joining the Prophet. The duty 
appears to have been faithfully performed by them. 
They protested in strong terms, against the schemes of 
the Prophet and his brother, and induced, it is believed, 
these tribes to give up all idea of joining them. Win- 
nemac was directed to inform the governor, of the de- 
termination to which they had come, and also, to lay 
before him tlie plans of the Prophet. According to the 
information before the council, Detroit, St. Louis, fort 
Wayne, Chicago and Vincennes, were all to be surpris- \ 
ed. Ertbrts were making to persuade the tribes resid- j 
ing on the Mississippi, to unite in the confederacy. It [' 
further appeared, that the followers of the Prophet, i 
drawn as they were from all the tribes, embraced but t 
few, if any of the peace chiefs, while not a [ew of the j 
war chiefs, or the leaders of small parties, were enroll- ' 
ing themselves under his standard. Winnemac stated 
to the governor, that the Prophet had actually suggest- 
ed to Ins young men, the expediency of murdering all 
the leading chiefs of the surrounding tribes, on the plea 
that their own hands would never be untied until this 
was done. They, he said, were the men who sold their 
lands, and invited the encroachments of the whites. 

About the period of Winnemac's visit, an Indian be- 
longing to the Iowa tribe, told general Harrison, that 
two years before, a British agent visited the Prophet, 
and delivered a message to hun. The object was to 
induce the Prophet to persevere in uniting the tribes 
against the United States, but not to make any hostile 
movement, until the signal was given him by tlie Brit- 
ish authorities. From this Iowa, and others of his 
tribe, the governor ascertained that the Prophet had 
been soliciting them and other tribes on the Mississippi 
to join the confederacy. To these the Prophet stated, 
iu his plausible manner, that the Americans were 
ceaselessly and silently invading the Indians, until those 



r 



118 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

who had suffered most, had resolved to be driven bad? 
no farther; and that it was the duty of the remote 
tribes upon whose lands the march of civilization had 
not yet pressed, to assist those who had already lost 
theirs, or in turn a corresponding calamity would fol 
low upon them. This, the Prophet declared, he was 
directed by the Great Spirit of the Indians to tell them,! 
adding, that this Great Spirit would utterly destroy 
rhem, if they ventured to doubt the words of his cho- 
sen Prophet.* ^ 

On the first of June, a Wyandot chief, called Leath- 
erlips, paid the forfeit of his life on a charge of witch- 
craft. General Harrison entertained the, opinion that 
his death was the result of the Prophet's command, 
and that the party who acted as executioners went 
directly from Tippecanoe, to the banks of the Sciot'^, 
where the tragedy was enacted. Leatherlips was 
found encamped upon that stream, twelve miles above 
Columbus. The six Wyandots Avho put him to death, 
were headed, it is supposed, by the chief Roimdhead. 
An. effort was made by some white men who were 
present to save the life of the accused, but without suc- 
cess. A council of two or three hours took place : the 
accusing party spoke with warmth and bitterness of 
feeling: Leatherlips was calm and dispassionate in his 
replies. The sentence of death, which had been pre- 
viously passed upon him, was reaffirmed. " The pri- 
soner then walked slowly to his camp, partook of a 
dinner of jerked venison, washed and arrayed himself 
in his best apparel, and afterwards painted his face. 
His dress was very rich — his hair gray, and his whole 
appearance graceful and commandmg." When the 
hour for the execution had arrived, Leatherlips shook 
hands in silence with the spectators. "He then turn- 
ed from his wigwam, and with a voice of surpassing 
strength and melody commenced the chant of the death 
song. He was followed closely by the Wyandot war- 
riors, all timing with their slow and measured march, 
the music of his wild and melancholy dirge. The 



* General Harrison's official correspondence — Dawson's Historical Nar- 
rative. 



LIFE OK TECUJvrSEH. 119 

I white men were likewise all silent followers in that 
I strange procession. At the distance of seventy or 
i eighty yards I'rom the camp, they came to a shallow 
j grave, which, unknown to the white men, had been 
I previously prepared by the Indians. Here the old man 
i knelt down, and in an elevated but solemn tone of 
I voice, addressed his prayer to the Great Spirit. As soon 
!as he had finished, the captain of the Indians knelt be- 
side him, and prayed in a similar manner. Their pray- 
ers of course were spoken in the Wyandot tongue. ^ ^' 
I * * " After a few moments delay, the prisoner again 
sank down upon his knees and prayed as he had done 
before. When he had ceased, he still continued in a 
kneeling position. All the rifles belonging to the party 
had been left at the wigwam. There was not a wea- 
pon of any kind to be seen at the place of execution, 
and the spectators were consequently unable to form 
any conjecture as to the mode of procedure, which the 
executioners had determined on, for the fulfilment of 
their purpose. Suddenly one of the warriors drew 
from Ijeneath the skirts of his capote, a keen, bright 
tomahawk — walked rapidly up behind the chieftain — 
brandished the weapon on high, for a single moment, 
and then struck with his whole strength. The blow 
descended directly upon the crown of the head, and the 
victim immediately fell prostrate. After he had lain 
awhile in the agonies of death, the Indian captain di- 
rected the attention of the white men to the drops of 
sweat which were gathering upon his neck and face; 
remarked with much apparent exultation, that it was 
conclusive proof of the sufferer's guilt. Again the ex- 
ecutioner advanced, and with the same weapon, inflict- 
ed two or three additional and heavy blows. As soon 
us life was entirely extinct, the body was hastily buried, 
with all its apparel and decorations; and the assem- 
blage dispersed."'^ 

One of Mr. Heckewelder's correspondents, as quoted 
in his Historical Account of the Indian Nations, makes 
Tarhe, better known by the name of Crane, the leader 
of this party. This has been denied ; and, the letter t 

* Mr. Otway Curry, in the Hesperian for May, 183S, 
■f- Published in the Hespeiian for July, 1838. 



120 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

of general Harrison on the subject, proves quite coi 
clusively that this celebrated chief had nothing to d 
with the execution of Leatherhps. Mr. Heckewelder 
correspondent conciu-s in the opinion that the origin 
order for the death of this old man, was issued fron 
the head quarters of the Prophet and his brother. 



CHAPTER Vn. 



Governor Hanison makes another effort to ascertain the designs of Tej 
cumsch and the Prophet — Tecumseh visits the governor at VincennesI 
attended by four hundred warriors — a council is held — Tecumseh be-i 
comes deeply excited, and charges governor Harrison with falsehood — 
council broken up in disorder — renewed the next day. I 

For the purpose of ascertaining more fully the de- 
signs of the Prophet and his brother, governor Harri-I 
son now despatched two confidential agents to their| 
head quarters at Tippecanoe. One of these agents, 
Mr. Dubois, Avas kindly received by the Prophet. He 
stated to him that he had been sent by governor Harri- 
son to ascertain the reason of his hostile preparations, 
and of his enmity to the United States ; that his con- 
duct liad created so much alarm, that warriors both in 
Kentucky and Indiana were arming for service, and 
that a detachment of regular troops was then actually 
on its way to Vincennes : that he was further author- 
ized by the governor to say, that these preparations 
were only for defence ; that no attempt would be made 
against him, until his intention to commence hostihties 
could be doubted no longer. The Prophet denied that 
he intended, to make war, and declared that on this 
point he had been unjustly accused : that it was by the 
express commands of the Great Spirit that he had fix- 
ed himself there ; and that he was ordered to assemble 
tlie Indians at that spot. When urged by the agent to 
state the grounds of his complaints against the United 
States, he replied, the Indians had.been cheated of their 
lands ; that no sale was valid unless sanctioned by all 
the tribes. He was assured tliat the government would 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 121 

j listen to any complaints he might have to urge ; and 
I that it was expedient for him to go to Vincennes and ] 
isee governor Harrison on the subject. This he declin- 
I ed doing, giving as a reason, that on his former visit to 
! him, he had been badly treated. Mr. Dubois met at 
: the Prophet's town with some Kickapoos, with whom 
jhe was acquainted. They seemed to regret having 
i joined the Prophet, and admitted that they had long 
' suspected that it was his wish to go to war with the 
United States. War was undoubtedly his intention, 
j but whether against the United States or the Osage 
' nation, they were unable to say with certainty. Mr. 
, Dubois, on this trip, visited the Wea and Eel river 
tribes, and found them apprehensive that war would 
ensue, and that they would find themselves involved 
^ in it. 

: The letter of general Harrison to the Secretary of 

, War, detailing the results of this mission, concludes 

I with the following remarks upon the principles long \ 

and stoutly contended for by Tecurnseh, that the In- 

dian lands were the common property of all the tribes, J 

and could not be sold without the consent of all. 

" The subject of allowing the Indians of this coun- 
try to consider all their lands as common property, has 
been frequently and largely discussed, in my commu- 
nications with your predecessor, and in a personal 
interview with the late President. The treaties made 
by me last fall were concluded on principles as liberal 
towards the Indians, as my knowledge of the views 
and opinions of the government would allow. For 
although great latitude of discretion has always been 
given to me, I knew that the opinion of Mr. Jefferson 
on the subject went so far as to assert a claim of the 
United States, as lords paramount, to the lands of all 
extinguished or decayed tribes, to the exclusion of all 
recent settlers. Upon this principle, the Miami nation 
are the only rightful claimants of all the unpurchased 
lands from the Ohio to the Illinois and Mississippi riv- 
ers. But, sir, the President may rest assured that the 
complaint of injury, with regard to the sale of lands, 
is a mere pretence suggested to the Prophet by British j 
partisans and emissaries.^' ^J 

L 



122 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

Early in Jiiiy, some of the Prophet's follo'/ers de- 
scended the Wabash to a point below Terre Haute, 
and stole several horses. A few days afterwards, go- 
vernor Harrison ascertained from a party of Indians 
who were on a visit to Vincennes, that the Sacs and 
Foxes had taken up the hatchet, and declared them- 
selves ready to act with the Prophet, whenever it 
should be required. It was further stated, that a 
Miami chief, who had just returned from his annual 
visit to Maiden, after receiving his usual stipend of 
goods, was addressed by the British agent, Elliot, in 
these words : " My son, keep your eyes fixed on me — 
my tomahawk is now up — be you ready, but do not 
strike till I give the signal." 

About the same time, the governor, in the hope of 
staying the movements of the Prophet, or at least of 
ascertaining the amount of his forces, forwarded to him 
by a confidential interpreter, the following speech: 

" William Henry Harrison, governor and comman- 
der-in-chief of the temtory of Indiana, to the Shawa- 
noe chief, and the Indians assembled at Tippecanoe : 

"Notwithstanding the improper language which you 
have used towards me, I will endeavor to open your 
eyes to your true interests. Notwithstanding what 
white bad men have told you, I am not your personal 
enemy. You ought to know this from the manner in 
which I received and treated you, on your visit to this 
place. 

" Although I must say, that you are an enemy to the 
Seventeen Fires, and that you have used the greatest 
exertions with other tribes to lead them astray. In 
this, you have been in some measure successful ; as I 
am told they are ready to raise the tomahawk against 
their father ; yet their father, notwithstanding his anger 
at their folly, is full of goodness, and is always ready 
to receive into his arms those of his children who are 
willing to repent, acknowledge their fault, and ask for 
his forgiveness. 

'^ There is yet but little harm done, which may be 
easily repaired. The chain of friendship which united 
the whites with the Indians, may be renewed, and be 
as strong as ever. A great deal of that work depends 



LIFE OP TECUMSEH. 123 

ion you — the destiny of those who are under your direc- 
tion, depends upon the choice you may make of the 
two roads which are before you. The one is large, 
lopen and pleasant, and leads to peace, security and 
[happiness; the other, on the contrary, is narrow and 
crooked, and leads to misery and ruin. Don't deceive 
.yourselves; do not believe that all the nations of Indi- 
'ans united, are able to resist the force of the Seventeen 
Fires. I know your warriors are brave, but ours are 
not less so ; but what can a few brave warriors do, 
lagainst the innumerable warriors of the Seventeen 
Fires? Our blue coats are more numerous than you 
can count ; our hunters are like the leaves of the forest, 
or the grains of sand on the Wabash. 

" Do not think that the red coats can protect you ; 
jthey are not able to protect themselves. They do not 
ithink of going to war with us. If they did, you would 
in a few moons see our tiag wave over all the forts of 
'Canada. 

'' What reason have you to complain of the Seven- 
teen Fires ? have they taken any thing from you — have 
they ever violated the treaties made with the red men ? 
You say that they purchased lands from them who had 
no right to sell them : show that this is true, and the 
land will be instantly restored. Show us the rightful 
: owners of those lands which have been purchased — let 
|them present themselves. The ears of your father will 
be opened to your complaints, and if the lands have 
been purchased of those who did not own them, they 
will be restored to the rightful owners. I have full 
power to arrange this business; but if you would rath- 
er carry your complaints before your great father, the 
President, you shall be indulged. I will immediately 
take means to send you with those chiefs which you 
may choose, to the city where your father lives. Eve- 
ry thing necessary shall be prepared for your journey, 
and means taken for your safe return." 

Tecumseh was present when the interpreter deliv- 
ered this speech. The Prophet made no reply to it, 
but promised to send one by his brother, who intended, 
I in a tew weeks, to make a visit to governor Harrison. 
Tn conversation, however, with the interpreter, the 



124 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

Prophet strongly disavowed the idea that he had any 
hostile intentions ; but at the same time declared, thai 
it would not be practicable long to maintain peace with 
the United States, unless the government would recog- 
nize the principle, that the lands were the common 
property of all the Indians; and cease to make any 
further settlement to the north and west. ^ " The Great 
Spirit" continued he, " gave this great island to his red 
children ; he placed the whites on the other side of the 
big water; they were not contented with their own, 
but came to take ours from us. They have driven us 
from the sea to the lakes : we can go no further. They 
have taken upon them to say, this tract belongs to the 
Miamis, this to the Delawares, and so on; but the 
Great Spirit intended it as the common property of us 
all. Our father tells us, that we have no business upon 
the Wabash, the land belongs to other tribes ; but the 
Great Spirit ordered us to come here, and here we will 
stay."' He expressed himself, in the course of the con- 
versation, gratified with the speech which the governor 
had sent him ; saying, he recollected to have seen him, 
when a very young man, sitting by the side of general 
Wayne. 

Some of the Indians, then at the Prophet's town, 
appeared to be alarmed at the arrival of the interpreter, 
and professed themselves dissatisfied with the conduct 
of their leaders. Tecumseh told him, that in making 
his promised visit to the governor, he should bring 
with him about thirty of his principal warriors ; and as 
the young men were fond of attending on such occa- 
sions, the whole number might probably be one hun- 
dred. The Prophet added, that the governor might 
expect to see a still larger number than that named by 
his brother. 

Upon the return of the interpreter to Vincennes, the 
governor, not wishing to be burthened Avith so large a 
body of Indians, despatched a messenger to Tecumseh, 
requesting that he would bring with him but a few of 
his followers. This request, however, was wholly dis- 
regarded ; and on the 12th of August, the chief, attended 
by four hundred warriors, fully armed with tomahawks 
and war-clubs, descended the Wabash to Vincennes, for 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 1^5 

the purpose of holding the proposed conference. From 
'a family letter written by captain Floyd, then cora- 
jmanding at fort Knox, three miles above Vincennes, 
iimder date of 14th of August, 1810, the following ex- 
tract is made, referring to this visit of the chieftain and 
ihis war-like retinue. 

; "Nothing new has transpired since my last letter to 
you, except that the Shawanoe Indians have come ; 
they passed this garrison, which is three miles above 
Vincennes, on Sunday last, in eighty canoes ; they were 
iall painted in the most terrific manner : they were stop- 
ped at the garrison by me, for a short time : I examin- 
ed their canoes and found them well prepared for war, 
in case of an attack. They were headed by the broth- 
|er of the Prophet, (Tecumseh) who, perhaps, is one of 
Ithe finest looking men I ever saw — about six feet high, 
straight, with large, fine features, and altogether a dar- 
ing, bold looking fellow. The governor's council with 
them will commence to-morrow morning. He has di- 
rected me to attend." 

Governor Harrison had made arrangements for hold- 
ing the council on the portico of his own house, which 
'had been fitted up with seats for the occasion. Here, 
on the morning of the fifteenth, he awaited the arrival 
of the chief, being attended by the judges of the Su- 
jpreme Court, some officers of the army, a sergeant and 
twelve men, from fort Knox, and a large number of 
citizens. At the appointed hour Tecumseh, supported 
by forty of his principal warriors, made his appearance, 
the remainder of his followers being encamped in the 
village and its environs. When the chief had ap- 
proached within thirty or forty yards of the house, he 
suddenly stopped, as if awaiting some advances from 
the governor. An interpreter was sent requesting him 
and his followers to take seats on the portico. To this 
Tecumseh objected — he did not think the place a suita- 
ble one for holding the conference, but preferred that it 
should take place in a grove of trees, — to which he 
pointed, — standing a short distance from the house. 
The governor said he had no objection to the grove, 
except that there were no seats in it for their accom- 
modation. Tecumseh replied, that constituted no ob- 
l2 



126 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

jection to the grove, the earth being the most suitab 
place for the Indians, who loved to repose upon the b( 
som of tlieir mother. The governor yielded the poin 
and the benches and chairs having been removed 1 
the spot, the conference was begun, the Indians bein 
seated on the grass. 

Tecumseh opened the meeting by stating, at lengtlj 
his objections to the treaty of fort Wayne, made by go\ 
ernor Harrison in the previous year; and in the cours 
of his speech, boldly avowed the principle of his part 
to be, that of resistance to every cession of land, unles 
made by all the tribes, who, he contended, formed bt 
one nation. He admitted that he had threatened t 
kill the chiefs who signed the treaty of fort Wayne 
and that it was his fixed determination not to permi 
the village chiefs, in future, to manage their affairs, bn 
to place the power with which they had been hereto 
fore invested, in the hands of the war chiefs. Th 
Americans, he said, had driven the Indians from th 
sea coast, and would soon push them into the lakes 
and, while he disclaimed all intention of making wa 
upon the United States, he declared it to be his una] 
terable resolution to take a stand, and resolutely oppos 
the further intrusion of the whites upon the India; 
lands. He concluded, by making a brief but impas 
sioned recital of the various wrongs and aggression 
inflicted by the white men upon the Indians, from th 
commencement of the Revolutionary war down to th 
period of that council; all of which was calculated t 
arouse and inflame the minds of such of his follower 
as were present. 

The governor rose m reply, and in examining th 
right of Tecumseh and his party to make objections t 
the treaty of fort Wayne, took occasion to say, that th 
Indians were not one nation, having a common prop 
erty in the lands. The Miamis, he contended, wer 
the real owners of the tract on the Wabash, ceded b 
the late treaty, and the Shawanoes had no right to ir 
terfere in the case ; that upon the arrival of the white 
on this continent, they had found the Miamis in pos 
session of this land, the Shawanoes being then resident 
of Georgia, from which they had been driven by th 



LIFE OP TECUMSEH. 127 

Creeks, and that it was ridiculous to assert that the red 
men constituted but one nation ; for, if such had been 
the intention of the Great Spirit, he would not have 
put different tongues in their heads, but liave taught 
thern all to speak the same language. 

The governor having taken his seat, the interpre- 
ter commenced explaining the speech to Tecumseh, 
who, after listening to a portion of it, sprung to his 
feet and began to speak with great vehemence of 
manner. 

The governor was surprised at his violent gestures, 
but as he did not understand him, thought he was ma- 
king some explanation, and suffered his attention to be 
drawn towards Winnemac, a friendly Indian lying on 
the grass before him, who was renewing the priming 
of his pistol, which he had kept concealed from the 
other Indians, but in full view of the governor. His 
attention, however, was again directed towards Te- 
cumseh, by hearing general Gibson, who was intimate- 
ly acquainted with the Shawanoe language, say to lieu- 
tenant Jennings, "those fellows intend mischief ; you 
had better bring up the guard." At that moment, the 
followers of Tecumseh seized their tomahawks and 
war clubs, and sprung upon their feet, their eyes turned 
upon the governor. As soon as he could disengage 
himself from the armed chair in which he sat, he rose, 
drew a small sword which he had by his side, and 
stood on the defensive. Captain G. R. Floyd, of the ar- 
my, who stood near him, drew a dirk, and the chief Win- 
nemac cocked his pistol. The citizens present, were 
more numerous than the Indians, but were unarmed; 
some of them procured clubs and brick-bats, and also 
stood on the defensive. The Rev. Mr. Winans, of tlie 
Methodist church, ran to the governor's house, got a 
gun, and posted himself at the door to defend the fami- 
ly. Dm'ing this singular scene, no one spoke, until the 
guard came running up, and appearing to be in the act 
of firing, the governor ordered them not to do so. He 
then demanded of the interpreter, an explanation of 
what had happened, who replied that Tecumseh had 
interrupted him, declaring that all the governor had 



128 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

said was false; and that he and the Seventeen Fh-es 
had cheated and imposed on the Indians.* 

The governor then told Tecumseh that he was a bad 
man, and that he wonld hold no lurther communication 
with him ; that as he had come to Vincennes under the 
protection of a council-fire, he might return in safety, 
but that he must immediately leave the village. Here 
the council terminated. During the night, two compa- 
nies of militia were brought in from the country, and 
that belongmg to the town was also embodied. Next 
morning Tecumseh requested the governor to afford 
him an opportunity of explaining his conduct on the 
previous day — declaring, that he did not intend to at- 
tack the governor, and that he had acted under the 
advice of some of the white people. The governor 
consented to another interview, it being understood that 
each party should have the same armed force as on the 
previous day. On this occasion, the deportment of 
Tecumseh was respectful and dignified. He again de- 
nied having had any intention to make an attack upon 
the governor, and declared that he had been stimulated 
to the course he had taken, by two white men, who 
assured him that one half of the citizens were opposed 
to the governor, and willing to restore the land in ques- 
tion ; that the governor would soon be put out of of- 
fice, and a good man sent to fill his place, who would 
give up the land to the Indians. When asked by the 
governor whether he intended to resist the survey of 
these lands, Tecumseh replied that he and his followers 
were resolutely determined to insist upon the old boun- 
dary. When he had taken his seat, chiefs from the 
Wyandots, Kickapoos, Potawatamies, Ottawas, and 
Winnebagoes, spoke in succession, and distinctly avow- 
ed that they had entered into the Shawanoe confede- 
racy, and were determined to support the principles 
laid down by their leader. The governor, in conclu- 
sion, stated that he would make known to the Presi- 
dent, the claims of Tecumseh and his party, to the land 
in question ; bat that he was satisfied the government 



Dawson's Historical Narrative. 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 129 

would never admit that the lands on the Wabash were 
the property of any other tribes than those who occu- 
pied them, when the white people first arrived in 
America; and, as the title to these lands had been 
derived by purchase from those tribes, he might rest 
assured that the right of the United States would be 
sustained by the sword. Here the council adjourned. 

On the followmg day, governor Harrison visited 
Tecumseh in his camp, attended only by the interpre- 
ter, and was very politely received. A long conversa- 
tion ensued, in which Tecumseh again declared that 
his intentions were really such as he had avowed them 
to be in the council ; that the policy which the United 
States pursued, of purchasing lands from the Indians, 
he viewed as a mighty water, ready to overflow his 
people ; and that the confederacy which he was form- 
ing among the tribes to prevent any individual tribe 
from selling without the consent of the others, was the 
dam he was erecting to resist this mighty water. He 
stated further, that he should be reluctantly drawn into 
a war with the United States ; and that if he, the go- 
vernor, would induce the President to give up the lands 
lately piuchased, and agree never to make another 
treaty without the consent of all the tribes, he would 
be their faithful ally and assist them in the war, which 
he knew was about to take place with England ; that 
he preferred being the ally of the Seventeen Fires, but 
if they did not comply with his request, he would be 
compelled to unite with the British. The governor 
replied, that he would make known his views to the 
President, but that there was no probability of their 
being agreed to. "Well," said Tecumseh, "as the 
great chief is to determine the matter, I hope the Great 
Spirit Avill put sense enough into his head to induce 
him to give up this land : it is true, he is so far off he 
will not be injured by the war ; he may sit still in hisj 
town and drink his wine, whilst you and I will have i 
to fight it out."' This prophecy, it Avill be seen, was 
literally fulfilled ; and the great chieftain who uttered 
it, attested that fulfilment with his blood. The govern- 
or, in conclusion, proposed to Tecumseh, that in the 
event of hostilities between the Indians and the United 



130 LIFE OP TECUMSEII. 

States, he should use his influence to put an end to the 
cruel mode of warfare whicli the Indians were accus- 
tomed to wage upon women and children, or upon pri- 
soners. To this he cheerfully assented ; and, it is due 
to the memory of Tecumseh to add, that he faithfully 
kept his promise down to the period of his death.* 
~ Whether in this council Tecumseh really meditated 
treachery or only intended to intimidate the governor, 
must remain a matter of conjecture. If the former, his 
force of four hundred well armed warriors was suffi- 
cient to have murdered the inhabitants and sacked the 
town, which at that time did not contain more than 
one thousand persons, including women and children. 

When in the progress of the conference, he and his 
forty followers sprung to their arms, there would have 
been, in all probability, a corresponding movement 
with the remainder of his warriors encamped in and 
around the village, had he seriously contemplated an 
attack upon the governor and the inhabitants. But 
this does not appear to have been the case. It is pro- 
bable, therefore, that Tecumseh, in visiting Vincennes 
with so large a body of followers, expected to make a 
strong impression upon the whites as to the extent of 
his influence among the Indians, and the strength of his 
party. His movement in the council may have been 
concerted for the purpose of intimidating the governor ; 
but the more probable supposition is, that in the ex- 
citement of the moment, produced by the speech of the 
governor, he lost his self-possession, and involuntarily 
placed his hand upon his war-club, in which move- 
ment he was followed by the warriors around him, 
without any previous intention of proceeding to ex- 
tremities. Whatever may have been the fact, the bold 
chieftain found in governor Harrison a firmness of pur- 
pose and an intrepidity of manner which must have 
convinced him that nothing was to be gained by an ef- 
fort at intimidation, however daring. 

Soon after the close of this memorable council, go- 

* In Marshall's History of Kentucky, vol. 2. p. 482, there is a speech 
quoted as having been delivered by Tecumseh at this council. We are 
authorised, on the best authority, to say that it is a sheer fabrication. No 
such speech was delivered by him at the council. 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 



15^1 



vernor Ilarrison made arrangemeiits for the survey 
of the land purchased at tlie treaty of fort Wayne, un- 
der the protection of a detaclnnent of soldiers. About 
the same time, " a young Iowa chief, whom the 
governor had employed to go to the Prophet's town 
to gain information, reported, on his return, that he 
had been told by an old Winnebago chief, who was 
his relation, that the great Belt which had been sent 
round to all the tribes, for the purpose of uniting 
them, was returned ; and he mentioned a considerable 
number who had acceded to the confederacy, the ob- 
ject of Avhich was " to confine the great water and 
prevent it from overflowing them." That the belt \ 
since its return had been sent to the British agent, who I 
danced for joy at seeing so many tribes had joinedy 
against the United States. That the Prophet had sent a 
speech to his confedrates not to be discouraged at the 
apparent defection of some of the tribes near him •, for 
that it was all a sham, intended to deceive the white 
people ; that these tribes hated the Seventeen Fires ; 
and that though they gave them sweet words, they 
were like grass plucked up by the roots, they would 
soon wither and come to nothing. The old Winne- 
bago chief told him with tears in his eyes, that he him- 
self and all the village chiefs, had been divested of their 
power, and that everything was managed by the war- 
riors, who breathed nothing but war against the Uni- 
ted States.*" 

Governor Harrison, in his address to the legislature 
of Indiana, in the month of November of this year, 
refers to the difficuhies with the Indians at Tippecanoe ; 
and bears testimony to the fact, that the Prophet and Te- 
cumseh were instigated to assume a hostile attitude to- 
wards the United States, by British influence. He says, 

'' It is with regret that I have to inform you that the 
harmony and good understanding which it is so much 
our interest to cultivate with our neighbors, the abo- 
rigines, have for some time past experienced consider- 
able interruption, and that we have indeed been threat- 
ened with hostilities, by a combination formed under 



Dawson'^ Historical XaTativy. 



132 LIFE OP TECUMSEH. 

the auspices of a bold adventurer, who pretends to act 
under the immediate inspiration of the Deity. His 
character as a Prophet would not, however, have giv- 
en him any very dangerous influence, if he had not 
been assisted by the intrigues and advice of Ibreign 
agents, and other disaffected persons, who have for 
many years omitted no opportunity of counteracting 
the measures of the government with regard to the In- 
dians, and filling their naturally jealous minds with 
suspicions of the justice and integrity of our views to- 
wards them." 

That our government was sincerely desirous of pre- 
serving peace with these disaffected Indians, appears 
from the following extract of a letter from the Secretary 
of War, to governor Harrison, written in the autumn 
of this year. " It has occurred to me," said the Secre- 
tary, " that the surest means of securing good behavior 
from this conspicuous personage and his brother, [the 
Prophet and Tecumseh] would be to make them pri- 
soners ; but at this time, more particularly, it is desira- 
ble that peace with all the Indian tribes should be pre- 
served ; and I am instructed by the President to express 
to your excellency his expectations and confidence, that 
in all your arrangements, this may be considered, (as I 
am confident it ever has been) a primary object with 
you." 

During the autumn, a Kickapoo chief visited Vin- 
cennes, and informed the governor that the pacific pro- 
fessions of the Prophet and Tecumseh were not to be 
relied on, — that their ultimate designs were hostile to 
the United States. At the same time governor Clark, 
of Missouri, forwarded to the governor of Indiana in- 
formation that the Prophet had sent belts to the tribes 
west of the Mississippi, inviting them to join in a war 
against the United States ; and, stating that he would 
commence the contest by an attack on Vincennes. 
Governor Clark further said, that the Sacs had at length 
joined the Tippecanoe confederacy, and that a party 
of them had gone to Maiden for arms and ammunition. 
The Indian interpreter, at Chicago, also stated to gov- 
ernor Harrison, that the tribes in that quarter were 
disaffected towards the United States, and seemed de- 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 133 

termined upon war. One of the surveyors, engaged 
to run the Hnes of the new purchase, was driven oft' the 
lands by a party of the Wea tribe, who took two of his 
men prisoners: tlius closed the year IS 10. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

\larm on the frontier continues — a Muskoe Indian killed at Vincennes — 
governor Harrison sends a pacific speech to Tecumseh and the Prophet 
— the former replies to it — in July Tecumseh visits governor Harrison at 
Vincennes — tiisavows any intention of making war upon the whites — 
explains his ohject in forming a union among the tribes — governor Har- 
rison's opinion of Tecumsoh and the Prophet — murder of the Deaf Chief 
— 'J'ecumseh visits the southern Indians. 

The spring of 1811 brought with it no abatement of 
these border difiiculties. Early in the season, governor 
Harrison sent a boat up the Wabash, loaded with salt 
for the Indians, — that article constituting a part of their 
annuity. Five barrels were to be left with the Pro- 
phet, for the Kickapoos and Shawanoes. Upon the 
arrival of the boat at Tippecanoe, the Prophet called a 
council, by which it was decided to seize the whole of 
the salt, which was promptly done — word being sent 
back to the governor, not to be angry at this measure, 
as the Prophet had two thousand men to feed; and, 
had not received any salt for two years past. There 
were at this time about six hundred men at Tippeca- 
noe ; and, TecumxSeh, who had been absent for some 
time, on a visit to the lakes, was expected daily, with 
large reinforcements. From appearances, it seemed pro- 
bable that an attack was meditated on Vincennes by 
these brothers, with a force of eight hundred or one 
thousand warriors ; a number far greater than the gov- 
ernor could collect, even if he embodied all the militia 
for some miles around that place. He accordingly 
wrote to the Secretary of War, recommending that the 
4th regiment of U. S. troops, then at Pittsburg, under 
the command of colonel Boyd, should be ordered to 
Vincennes ; at the same time asking for authority to 

M 



134 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

act offensively against the Indians, so soon as it was 
found that the intentions of their leaders were decided- 
ly hostile towards the United States. 

Under date of June 6th, governor Harrison, in a let- 
ter to the war department, expresses the opinion that 
the disposition of the Indians is far from being pacific. 
Wells, the agent at fort Wayne, had visited the Pro- 
phet's town, relative to some stolen horses, and certain 
Potawatamies who had committed the murders on the 
Mississippi. Four of the horses were recovered, but 
Tecumseh disclaimed all agency in taking them, al 
though he acknowledged that it was done by some ot 
his party. Tecumseh openly avowed to the agent his 
resolute determination to resist the further encroach- 
ments of the white people. In this letter the governor 
remarks, " 1 wish I could say the Indians were treated 
with justice and propriety on all occasions by our citi- 
zens ; but it is far otherwise. They are often abused 
and maltreated ; and it is very rare that they obtain 
any satisfaction for the most unprovoked wrongs.'" He 
proceeds to relate the circumstance of a Muskoe In- 
dian having been killed by an Italian innkeeper, in Vin- 
cennes, without any just cause. The murderer, under 
the orders of the governor, was apprehended, tried, but 
acquitted by the jury almost without deliberation. 
About the same time, within twenty miles of Vincennes, 
two Weas were badly wounded by a white man with- 
out the smallest provocation. Such aggressions tended 
greatly to exasperate the Indians, and to prevent them 
from delivering up such of their people as committed 
offences against the citizens of the United States. Such 
was the fact with the Delawares, upon a demand from 
the governor for White Turkey, who had robbed the 
house of a Mr. Vawter. The chiefs refused to surren- 
der him, declaring that they would never deliver up 
another man until some of the whites were punished, 
who had murdered their people. They, however, pun- 
ished White Turkey themselves, by putting him to 
death. 

On the 24th of June, soon after the return of Tecum- 
seh from his visit to the Iroquois and Wyandots, for 
the purpose of increasing his confederacy, governor 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 135 

larrison transmitted to him and the Prophet, together 
rilh. the other chiefs at Tippecanoe, the following 
peech : 

"Brothers, — Listen to me. I speak to you about 
latters of importance, both to the white people and 
ourselves; open your ears, therefore, and attend to 
^hat I shall say. 

" Brothers^ this is the third year that all the white 
eopie in this country have been alarmed at your pro- 
3edings ; you threaten us with war, you invite all the 
•ibes to the north and west of you to join against us. 

" Brothers, your Avarriors who have lately been here, 
eny this ; but I have received the information from 
very direction ; the tribes on the Mississippi have sent 
le word that you intended to murder me, and then to 
3mmence a war upon our people. I have also receiv- 
1 the speech you sent to the Potawatamies and oth- 
rs, to join you for that purpose ; but if I had no other 
vidence of your hostility to us, your seizing the salt 
lately sent up the Wabash, is sutficient. 

" Brothers, our citizens are alarmed, and my warri- 
rs are preparing themselves ; not to strike you, but 
) defend themselves and their women and children, 
'ou shall not surprise us as you expect to do ; you are 
bout to undertake a very rash act; as a friend, I ad- 
ise you to consider well of it ; a little reflection may 
ive us a great deal of trouble and prevent much mis- 
tiief ; it is not yet too late. 

" Brothers, what can be the inducement for you to 
ndertake an enterprise when there is so little proba- 
ility of success ; do you really think that the handful 
f men that you have about you, are able to contend 
rith the Seventeen Fires, or even that the whole of 
le tribes united, could contend against the Kentucky 
'ire alone ? 

" Brothers, I am myself of the long knife fire ; as 
)on as they hear my A^oice, you will see them pouring 
•rth their swarms of hunting shirt men, as numerous 

the musquetoes on the shores of the Wabash ; bro- 
lers, take care of their stings. 

" Brothers, it is not our wish to hurt you: if we did, 

e certainly have power to do it; loak at the number 



136 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

of our warriors to the east of you, above and below 
the Great Miami, — to the south, on both sides of Iht 
Ohio, and below you also. You are brave men ; bu 
what could you do against such a multitude ? — but wt 
wish you to live in peace and happiness. 

" Brothers, the citizens of this country are alarmed 
they must be satisfied that you have no design to dc 
them mischief, or they will not lay aside their arms. 
You have also insulted the government of the United 
States by seizing the salt that was intended for other 
tribes ; satisfaction must be given for that also. 

" Brothers, you talk of coming to see me, attended 
by all your young men ; this, however, must not be 
so ; if your intentions are good, you have no need to 
bring but a few of your young men with you. I must 
be plain with you ; I will not suffer you to come into 
our settlements with such a force. | 

« Brothers, if you wish to satisfy us that your inten-' 
tions are good, follow the advice that I have given you 
before ; that is, that one or both of you should visit the 
President of the United States, and lay your grievan- 
ces before him. He will treat you well, will listen to, 
what you say, and if you can show him that you have 
been injured, you will receive justice. If you will fol- 
low my advice in this respect, it will convince the citi-i 
zens of this country and myself that you have no de-| 
sign to attack them. i 

" Brothers, with respect to the lands that were pur-j 
chased last fall, I can enter into no negociations withi 
you on that subject; the affair is in the hands of the 
President, if you wish to go and see him, I will supply 
you with the means. 

" Brothers, the person who delivers this, is one of my 
war officers ; he is a man in whom I have entire con- 
fidence : whatever he says to you, although it may not 
be contained in this paper, you may believe comes 
from me. ' 

« My friend Tecumseh ! the bearer is a good man and ■ 
a brave warrior ; I hope you will treat him well ; you : 
are yourself a warrior, and all such should have esteem 
for each other." 

Tecumseh to the governor of Indiana, in reply : 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 137 

^' "Brother, I give you a few words until I will be 
with you myself. 

"Brother, at Vincennes, I wish you to listen to me 
whilst I send you a few words, and 1 hope they will 
ease your heart ; I know you look on your young men 

' and young women and children with pity, to see them 

' so much alarmed. 

"Brother, I wish you now to examine what you 
have from me ; I hope that it will be a satisfaction to 
you, if your intentions are like mine, to wash aAvay all 

I these bad stories that have been circulated. I will be 
with you myself in eighteen days from this day. 

" Brother, we cannot say what will become of us, as 
the Great Spirit has the management of us all at his 

I will. I may be there before the time, and may not be 

' there until the day. I hope that when we come to- 
gether, all these bad tales will be settled; by this I hope 

I your young men, women and children, will be easy. 
i wish you, brother, to let them know when I come to 

' Vincennes and see you, all will be settled in peace and 

I happiness. 

"Brother, these are only a few words to let you 
know that I will be with you myself, and when I am 
with you I can inform you better. 

j " Brother, if I find that I can be with you in less 
time than eighteen days, I will send one of my young 
men before me, to let you know what time I will be 
with you.'' ^ 

I On the second of July, governor Harrison received 
information from the executive of Illinois, that several 

I murders had been committed in that territory ; and 

I that there were good grounds for believing these crimes 

I had been perpetrated by a party of Shawanoes. The 

I governor had been previously informed that it was the 
design of the Prophet to commence hostilities in Illi- 
nois, in order to cover his main object — the attack on 
Vincennes. Both territories were in a state of great 
alarm; and the Secretary of War Avas officially notified, 
ihat if the general government did not take measures 
to protect the inhabitants, they were determined to pro- 
tect themselves. 

In a letter under date of Vincennes, 10th July, 1811, 
M 2 



138 LIFE OF TECU-AISEH. 

governor Harrison writes as follows to the Secretary 
of War. 

"Captain Wilson, the officer whom I sent to the Pro- 
phet's town, returned on Sunday last. He was well re- 
ceived, and treated with particular friendship by Tecum- 
seh. He obtained, however, no satisfaction. The only 
answer given was, that in eighteen days Tecumseh 
would pay me a visit for the purpose of explaining his 
conduct. Upon being told that I would not suffer him 
to come vv^ith so large a force, he promised to bring 
with him a few men only. I shall not, however, de- 
pend upon this promise, but shall have the river well 
watched by a party of scouts after the descent of the 
chief, lest he should be followed by his warriors. I do 
not think that this will be the case. The detection of 
the hostile designs of an Indian, is generally (for that 
time) to defeat them. 'J'he hopes of an expedition, 
conducted through many hundred miles of toil and dif- 
ficulty, are abandoned frequently, upon the slightest 
suspicion ; their painful steps retraced, and a more 
favorable moment expected. With them the surprise 
of an enemy bestows more eclat upon a warrior than 
the most brilliant success obtained by other means. 
Tecumseh has taken for his model the celebrated Pon- 
tiac, and I am persuaded he will bear a favorable com- 
parison, in every respect, with that far famed warrior. 
If it is his object to begin with the surprise of this 
place, it is impossible that a more favorable situation 
could have been chosen, than the one he occupies : it 
is just so far off as to be removed from immediate ob- 
servation, and yet so near as to enable him to strike 
us, when the water is high, in twenty-four hours, and 
even when it is low, their light canoes will come fully 
as fast as the journey could be performed on horse- 
back. The situation is in other respects admirable for 
the purposes for which he has chosen it. It is nearly 
central with regard to the tribes which he wishes to 
unite. The water communication with lake Erie, by 
means of the Wabash and Miami — with lake Michigan 
and the Illinois, by the Tippecanoe, is a great conve- 
nience. It is immediately in the centre of the back 
Ime of that fine country which he wishes to prevent us 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 139 

I from settling — and above all, he has immediately in his 
i rear a country that has been but little explored, con- 
! sisting principally of barren thickets, interspersed with 
I swamps and lakes, into which our cavalry could not 
I penetrate, and our infantry, only by slow, laborious 
: eiforts." 

The promised visit of Tecumseh took place in the 
i latter part of July. He reached Vincennes on the 27th, 
' attended by about three hundred of his party, of whom 
thirty were women and children. The council was 
opened on the 30th, in an arbor erected for the purpose, 
and at the appointed time the chief made his appear- 
ance, attended by about one hundred and seventy war- 
riors, without guns, but all of them having knives and 
tomahawks, or \var clubs, and some armed with bows 
and arrows. The governor, in opening the council, 
; made reference to the late miu'ders in Illinois, and the 
, alarm which the appearance of Tecumseh, with so 
I large an armed force, had created among the people on 
the Wabash. He further informed Tecumseh that, 
whilst he listened to Avhatever himself or any of the 
chiefs had to say in regard to the late purchase of land, 
he would enter into no negociation on that subject, as 
it was now in the hands of the President. The gover- 
nor, after telling Tecumseh that he was at liberty to 
visit the President, and hear his decision from his own 
mouth, adverted to the late seizure of the salt, and de- 
manded an explanation of it. In reply, the chief ad- 
mitted the seizure, but said he was not at home, either 
this spring or the year before, when the salt boats arri- 
ved; that it seemed impossible to please the governor:;' 
last year he was angry, because the salt was refused, 
and this year equally so, because it was taken. The 
council was then adjourned until the following day. 
When it was again opened, a Wea chief made a long 
speech, giving the history of all the treaties which liad 
been made by the governor and the Indian tribes ; and 
concluded with the remark, that he had been told that 
the Miami chiefs had been forced by the Potawatamies 
to accede to the treaty of fort Wayne ; and that it 
would be proper to institute enquiries to find out the 
person who had held the tomahawk over their heads, 



140 LIFE OF TJECUM3EH. 

and punish him. This statement was immediately con 
tradicted by the governor, and also by the Miami chiefs 
who were present. Anxious to bring the conference to 
a close, the governor then told Tecumseh tiiat by deliv- 
ering up the two Potawatamies who had murdered the 
four white men on the Missouri, last foil, he would at 
once attest the sincerity of his professions of friendship 
to the United States, and his desire to preserve peace. I 
His reply was evasive, but developed very clearly his 
designs. After much trouble and difficulty he had in- 
duced, he said, all the northern tribes to unite, and 
place themselves imder his direction ; that the white 
people were unnecessarily alarmed at his measures, 
which really meant nothing but peace ; that the United 
States had set him the example of forming a strict 
union amongst all the Fires that compose their confed- 
eracy ; that the Indians did not complain of it, nor 
should his white brothers complain of him for doing 
the same thing in regard to the Indian tribes ; that so 
soon as the council was over, he was to set oiU on a 
visit to the southern tribes, to prevail upon them to 
unite with those of the north. As to the murderers, 
they were not at his town, and if they were, he could 
not deliver them up ; that they ought to be forgiven, as 
well as those who had committed some murders in II- 
hnois ; that he had set the whites an example of the 
forgiveness of injuries which they ought to follow. In 
reply to an enquiry on the subject, he said he hoped no 
attempt would be made to settle the new purchase, be- 
fore his return next spring; that a great number of 
Indians were coming to settle at Tippecanoe in the au- 
tumn, and they would need that tract as a hunting 
ground, and if they did no further injury, they might 
kill the cattle and hogs of the white people, which 
would create disturbances ; that he wished every thing 
to remain in its present situation until his return, when 
he would visit the President, and settle all difficulties 
with him. The governor made a brief reply, saying, 
that the moon which they beheld (it was then night) 
would sooner fall to the earth, than the President would 
suffer his people to be murdered with impunity ; and 
that he would put his warriors in petticoats, sooner 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 141 

than he would give up a country which he had fairly 
acquired from the rightful owners. Plere the council 
terminated. In a day or two afterwards, attended by 
twenty warriors, Tecumseh set off for the south, on a 
visit to the Creeks and Choctaws. The governor was 
' at a loss to determine the object of Tecumseh, in taking 
I witli him to Vincennes, so large a body of his follow- 
: ers. The spies said that he intended to demand a 
i retrocession of the late purchase, and if it was not ob- 
tained, to seize some of the chiefs who were active 
1 iu making the treaty, in presence of the governor, and 
put them to death ; and in case of his interference, to 
have subjected him to the same fate. Many of the 
neutral Indians entertained the opinion that he medita- 
ted an attack upon Vincennes. If such was the case, 
his plan was probably changed by observing the vigi- 
lance of governor Harrison and the display of seven or 
eight hundred men under arms. It is questionable, 
however, we think, whether Tecumseh really medita- 
ted violence at this time. He probably wished to im- 
press the whites with an idea of his strength, and at the 
same time gratify his ambition of moving, as a great 
chieftain, at the head of a numerous retinue of warriors. 
The day after the close of this council, the governor 
wrote to the War Department. The following is a part 
of his communication. 

" My letter of yesterday will inform you of the arri- 
val and departure of Tecumseh from this place, and of 
the route which he has taken. There can be no doubt 
his object is to excite the southern Indians to war 
against us. His mother was of the Creek nation, and 
he builds much upon that circumstance towards for- 
warding his views. I do not think there is any danger 
of further hostility until he returns: and his absence 
affords a most favorable opportunity for breaking up 
his confederacy, and I have some expectations of being 
able to accomplish it without a recourse to actual hos- 
tility. Tecumseh assigned the next spring as the pe- 
riod of his return. I am informed, however, that he 
will be hack in three months. There is a Potawata- 
mie chief here, who says he was present when the 
message from the British agent was delivered to the 



142 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. | 

Prophet, telling him that the time had arrived for tak- 
ing lip arms, and inviting him to send a party to Mai- 
den, to receive the necessary supplies. This man is 
one of the few who preserve their independence. 

" The implicit obedience and respect which the fol- 
lowers of Tecmiiseh pay to him, is really astonishing, 
and more than any other circumstance bespeaks him| 
one of those uncommon geniuses which spring up 
occasionally to produce revolutions, and overturn the 
established order of things. If it were not for the 
vicinity of the United States, he would, perhaps, be the 
founder of an empire that would rival in glory Mexico 
or Peru. No difficulties deter him. For four years he 
has been in constant motion. You see him to-day on 
the Wabash, and in a short time hear of him on the 
shores of lake Erie or Michigan, or on the banks of the 
Mississippi ; and wherever he goes he makes an im- 
pression favorable to his purposes. He is now upon 
the last round to put a finishing stroke to his work. I 
hope, however, before his return that that part of the 
fabric which he considered complete, will be demolish- 
ed, and even its foundations rooted up. Although the 
greater part of his followers are attached to him from 
principle and affection, there are many others who fol- 
low him through fear ; and he was scarcely a mile 
from town, before they indulged in the most virulent 
invectives against him. The Prophet is impudent 
and audacious, but is deficient in judgment, talents and 
firmness.'^ 

The following anecdote illustrates the coolness and 
self-possession of Tecumseh, not less than the implicit 
obedience that was paid to his commands by his fol- 
lowers. 

A Potawatamie, called the Deaf Chief, was present 
at the late council. After it was closed, he stated to 
the governor, that had he been called upon during the 
conference he would have confronted Tecumseh, when 
he denied that his intentions towards the United States 
were hostile. This declaration having been repeated 
to Tecumseh, he calmly intimated to the Prophet, that 
upon their return to Tippecanoe, the Deaf Chief must 
be disposed of. A friend of the latter informed him of 



LIFE OF TECUMSKJI. 143 

:iis danger, but the chief, not at all intimidated, return- 
ed to his camp, put on his war-dress, and equipping 
himself with his rifle, tomahawk and scalping knife, 
returned and presented himself before Tecumseli, who 
was then in company with Mr. Baron, the governor's 
interpreter. The Deaf Chief tiieue reproached Tecum- 
seh for having ordered him to be killed, declaring that 
it was an act unworthy of a warrior. " But liere I am 
[low," said he, " come and kill me." Tecumseli mak- 
ng no answer, the Potawatamie heaped upon him 
every term of abuse and contumely, and finally charg- 
ed him with being the slave of the red-coats, (the Bri- 
;ish.) Tecumseh, perfectly unmoved, made no reply, 
3Ut continued his conversation with Mr. Baron, until 
:he Deaf Chief, wearied with the effort to provoke his 
mtagonist to action, returned to his camp. There is 
jome reason for believing that the Prophet did not dis- 
)bey his orders : the Deaf Chief was never seen again 
it Vincennes. 

Of the result of the mission of Tecumseh to the 
;outhern tribes, we have no detailed information, 
[-lodgson, who subsequently travelled through this 
country, in his '< Letters from North America," says : 

" Our host told me that he was living with his In- 
han wife among the Creeks, when the celebrated In- 
lian warrior Tecumseh, came more than one thousand 
niles, h'oni the borders of Canada, to induce the lower 
I^reeks, to promise to take up the hatchet in behalf of 
lie British, against the Americans, and the upper 
IJreeks whenever he should require it : that he was 
^resent at the midnight convocation of the chiefs, 
tvhich was held on that occasion, and which termina- 
ed after a most impressive speech from Tecumseh 
ivith a unanimous determination to take up the hatchet 
ivhenever he should call upon them. This was at least 
I year before the declaration of the last war." 

In the "History of the Tribes of North America," 
here is an interesting notice of this visit of Tecum- 
5eh. 

" The following remarkable circumstance may serve 
:o illustrate the penetration, decision and boldness of 
his warrior chief. He had been south, to Florida, and 



144 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

succeeded in instigating the Seminoles in particiilai 
and portions of other tribes, to unite in the war on th( 
side of the British. He gave out that a vessel, on < 
certain day, commanded by red-coats, would be ofl 
Florida, filled with guns and ammunition, and supplies 
for the use of the Indians. That no mistake migh 
happen in regard to the day on which the Indians were' 
to strike, he prepared bundles of sticks, each bundle 
containing the number of sticks corresponding to the 
iuniiber of days that were to intervene between the 
day on which they were received, and the day of the' 
general onset. The Indian practice is to throw awayl 
a stick every morning ; they make, therefore, no mis-| 
take in the time. These sticks Tecumseh caused to be' 
painted red. It was from this circumstance that in the 
former Seminole war, these Indians were called " Red 
Sticks." In all this business of mustering the tribes, 
he used great caution ; he supposed enquiry would be 
made as to the object of his visit ; that his plans might 
not be suspected, he directed the Indians to reply to 
any questions that might be asked about him, by 
saying, that he had counselled them to cultivate the 
ground, abstain from ardent spirits, and live in peace 
with the white people. On his return from Florida, he 
went among the Creeks in Alabama, urging them to 
unite with the Seminoles. Arriving at Tuckhabatchee, 
a Creek town on the Tallapoosa river, he made his way 
to the lodge of the chief called the Big Warrior. He 
explained his object, delivered his war-talk, presented 
a bundle of sticks, gave a piece of wampum and a 
hatchet ; all which the Big Warrior took. When Te- 
cumseh, reading the intentions and spirit of the Big 
Warrior, looked him in the eye, and pointing his linger 
towards his face, said : " Your blood is white : you 
have taken my talk, and the sticks, and the wampum, 
and the hatchet, but you do not mean to fight: I know 
the reason : you do not believe the Great Spirit has sent 
me: you shall know: I leave Tuckhabatchee directly, 
and shall go straight to Detroit : when I arrive there, I 
will stamp on the ground with my foot, and shake 
down every house in Tuckhabatchee.'' So saying, he 
turned and left the Big Warrior in utter amazement, at 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. Mo 

both his niaiitier and his threat, and pursued his jour- 
ney. Tlie Indians were struck no less with his con- 
duct than was the Big Warrior, and began to dread the 
arrival of the day when the threatened calamity would 
befal them. They met often and talked over this mat- 
ter, and counted the days carefully, to know the time 
when Tecumseh would reach Detroit. The morning 
they had fixed upon, as the period of his arrival, at last 
came. A mighty rumbling was heard — the Indians all 
ran out of their houses — the earth began to shake; 
when at last, sure enough, every house in Tuckha- 
batchee was shaken down! The exclamation was in 
every mouth, "Tecumseh has got to Detroit!'^ The 
effect was electrical. The message he had delivered to 
the Big Warrior was believed, and many of the Indians 
took their rifles and prepared for the war. 

"The reader will not be surprised to learn, that an 
earthquake had produced all this; but he will be, 
doubtless, that it should happen on the very day on 
which Tecumseh arrived at Detroit; and, in exact ful- 
filment of his threat. It was the famous earthquake 
of New Madrid, on the Mississippi. We received the 
foregoing from the lips of the Indians, when we were 
at Tuckhabatchee, in 1827, and near the residence of 
the Big Warrior. The anecdote may therefore be re- 
lied on. Tecumseh's object, doubtless, was, on seeing 
that he had failed, by the usual appeal to the passions, 
and hopes, and war spirit of the Indians, to alarm their 
fears, little dreaming, himself, that on the day named, 
his threat would be executed with such punctuality 
and terrible fidelity." 



N 



146 LIFE OF TEOUMSEH. 



CHAPTER IX. 



Governor Harrison applies to the War Department for troops to maintain 
peace on the frontiers — battle of Tippecanoe on the 7th of Noveiriber — 
its influence on the Frophet and his followers. 

The late council at Vincennes having failed in pro- 
ducing aiiy satisfactoiy results, and Tecumseh having 
gone to the south for the avowed purpose of extending 
his confederacy, the alarm among the inhabitants of I 
Indiana continued to increase. Public meetings were | 
held, and memorials forwarded to the President, invo- 
king protection, and requesting the removal of the In- 
dians from the Prophet\s town ; the memorialists be- 
ing " fully convinced that the formation of this combi- 
nation, headed by the Shawanoe Prophet, was a Bri- 
tish scheme, and that the agents of that power were 
constantly exciting the Indians to hostility against the 
United States." The President accordingly placed the 
4th regiment U. S. infantry, commanded by colonel 
Boyd, and a company of ritlemen, at the disposal of 
governor Harrison. The Secretary of War, under date 
of 20th October, 1811, in a letter to him, says: "I have 
been particularly instructed by the President to com- 
municate to your excellency, his earnest desire that 
peace may, if possible, be preserved with the Indians : 
and that to this end, every proper means may be adopt- 
ed. By this, it is not intended that murder or robbe- 
ries committed by them, should not meet with the 
punishment due to those crimes; that the settlements 
should be unprotected, or that any hostile combination 
should avail itself of success, in consequence of a ne- 
glect to provide the means of resisting and defeating it ; 
or that the banditti under the Prophet should not be 
attacked and vanquished, provided such a measure 
should be rendered absolutely necessary. Circumstan- 
ces conspire, at this particular juncture, to render it pe- 
culiarly desirable that hostihties of any kind, or to any 
degree, not indispensably required, should be avoided." 

On the seventh of August the governor informed the 
secretary that he should call, in a peremptory manner, 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 147 

! on all the tribes, to deliver up such of their people as had 
i been concerned in the murder of our citizens ; that from 
j the Miamis he should require an absolute disavowal of 
all connection with die Prophet; and that to all the 
I tribes he would repeat the declaration, tiiat the United 
: States have manifested through a series of years, the 
' utmost justice and generosity towards their Indian 
i neighbors ; and have not only fulfilled all the cngage- 
■ ments which they entered into with them, but have 
spent considerable sums to civilize them and promote 
I their happiness ; but if, under those circumstances, any 
' tribe should dare to take up the tomahawk against 
, their fathers, they must not expect the same lenity that 
' had been shown them at the close of the former war, 
I l>ut that they would either be exterminated or driven 
I beyond the Mississippi. 

! in furtherance of this plan, the governor forwarded 
; speeches to the different tribes, and instructed the Indi- 
I an agents to use all possible means to recall them to a 
; sense of duty. He also wrote to the governors of Illi- 
I nois and Missouri, on the subject of the border ditficul- 
ties, in the hope that a general and simultaneous effort 
I might avert an appeal to arms. 

In the month of September, the Prophet sent assu- 
rances to governor Harrison of his pacific intentions, 
and that his demands should be complied with; but 
about the same time some horses were stolen in the 
neighborhood of his town, and the whites who went in 
pursuit of them were fired upon by the Indians. Early 
in October the governor moved, with a considerable 
body of troops, towards the Prophet's town, with the 
expectation that a show of hostile measures would 
bring about an accommodation with the Indians of that 
place. On the 10th of October, one of the sentinels 
around his camp was fired on by the Indians, and se- 
verely wounded. About the same time the Prophet 
sent a messenger to the chiefs of the Delaware tribe, 
who were friendly to the United States, requiring them 
to say whether they would or would not join him in 
the war against them ; that he had taken up the toma- 
hawk and would not lay it down but with his life, un- 
less their wrongs were redressed. The Delaware chiefs 



148 LIFE OF TECUMSEII. 

immediately visited the Prophet, for the purpose of 
dissuading iiim from commencing hostilities. Under 
these circumstances there seemed to be no alternative 
for governor Harrison, but to break up the Prophet's 
establishment. On the 27th, the Delaware chiefs re- 
turned to the camp of the governor, and reported that 
the Prophet would not listen to their council, and had 
grossly insulted them. While at the Prophet's town, 
the Indians who had wounded the sentinel, returned. 
They were Shawanoes and near friends of the Prophet, 
who was daily practising certain pretended rites, by 
means of Avhich he played upon the superstitious feel- 
ings of his followers, and kept them in a state of fever- 
ish excitement. On the 29th, a body of twenty -four 
Miami chiefs were sent by governor Harrison, to make 
another effort with the Prophet. They were instructed 
to require that the Winnebagoes, Potawatamies and 
Kickapoos, should leave him and return to their respec- 
tive tribes; that all the stolen horses in their posses- 
sion should be delivered up; that the murderers of the 
whites should either be surrendered or satisfactory 
proof offered that they were not under his control. 
These chiefs, however, did not return, and there is 
reason to believe that they were induced to join the 
confederacy at Tippecanoe. 

On the 5th of November, 1811, governor Harrison, 
with about nine hundred effective troops, composed of 
two hundred and fifty of the 4th regiment U. S. infant- 
ry, one hundred and thirty volunteers, and a body of mi- 
litia, encamped within ten miles of the Prophet's town. 
On the next day, when the army was within five miles 
of the village, reconnoitering parties of the Indians were 
seen, but they refused to hold any conversation with 
the interpreters sent forward by the governor to open a 
communication with them. When within a mile and 
a half of the town a halt was made, for the purpose of 
encamping for the night. Several of the field officers 
urged the governor to make an immediate assault on 
the village ; but this he declined, as his instructions from 
the President were positive, not to attack the Indians, 
as long as there was a probability of their complying 
with the demands of government. Upon ascertaining, 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 'l^O 

however, that the ground continued favorable for the 
disposition of his troops, quite up to the town, he de- 
termined to approach still nearer to it. In the mean 
time, captain Dubois, with an interpreter, was sent for- 
ward to ascertain whether the Prophet would comply 
with the terms proposed by the governor. The Indi- 
ans, however, would make no reply to these enquiries, 
but endeavored to cut off the messengers from the 
army. When this fact v/as reported to the governor, 
he determined to consider the Indians as enemies, and 
at once march upon their town. He had proceeded 
but a short distance, however, before he was met by 
three Indians, one of them a principal counsellor to the 
Prophet, who stated that they were sent to know why 
the army was marching upon their town — that the 
Prophet was desirous of avoiding hostilities — that he 
had sent a pacific message to governor Harrison by the 
Miami and Potawatamie chiefs, but that those chiefs 
had unfortunately gone down on the south side of the 
Wabash, and had thus faijed to meet him. According- 
ly, a suspension of hostilities was agreed upon, and the 
terms of peace were to be settled on tlie following 
morning by the governor and the chiefs. In moving 
the army towards the Wabash, to encamp for the night, 
the Indians became again alarmed, supposing that an 
attack was about to be made on the town, notwith- 
standing the armistice which had just been concluded. 
They accordingly began to prepare for defence, and 
some of them sallied out, calling upon the advanced 
corps, to halt. The governor immediately rode for- 
ward, and assured the Indians that it was not his in- 
tention to attack them, but that he was only in search 
of a suitable piece of ground on which to encamp his 
troops. He enquired if there was any other water 
convenient besides that which the river afforded; and 
an Indian, with whom he was well acquainted, an- 
swered, that the creek which had been crossed two 
miles back, ran through the prairie to the north of the 
village. A halt was then ordered, and majors Piatt, 
Clark and Taylor, were sent to examine this creek, as 
well as the river above the town, to ascertain the cor- 
rectness of the information, and decide on the best 

N 2 



150 LIFE OP TECUMSEH. 

ground for an encampment. In the course of half an 
hour, the two latter reported that they had found on 
the creek, every thing that could be desirable in an en- 
campment — an elevated spot, nearly surrounded by an| 
open prairie, with water convenient, and a sufficiency! 
of wood for fuel."* The army was now marched to 
this spot, and encamped " on a dry piece of ground,' 
which rose about ten feet above the level of a marshy 
prairie in front towards the town; and, about twice as 
high above a similar prairie in the rear ; through which, 
near the foot of the hill, ran a small stream clothed 
with willows and brush-wood. On the left of the en- j 
campment, this bench of land became wider ; on the I 
right, it gradually narrowed, and terminated in an ab- 
rupt point, about one hundred and fifty yards from the 
right bank.'^t 

The encampment was about three-fourths of a mile 
from the Prophet's town; and orders were given, in 
the event of a night attack, for each corps to maintain 
its position, at all hazards, juntil relieved or further 
orders were given to it. The whole army was kept 
during the night, in the military position which is cal- 
led, lying on their arms. The regular troops lay in 
their tents, with their accoutrements on, and their arms 
by their sides. The militia had no tents, but slept with 
their clothes and pouches on, and their guns under 
them, to keep them dry. The order of the encamp- 
ment was the order of battle, for a night attack; and as 
every man slept opposite to his post in the line, there 
was nothing for the troops to do, in case of an assault, 
but to rise and take their position a few steps in the 
rear of the fires around which they had reposed. The 
guard of the night consisted of two captain's commands 
of forty-two men, and four non-commissioned officers 
each ; and two subaltern's guards of twenty men and 
non-commissioned officers each — the whole amounting 
to about one hundred and thirty men, under the com- 
mand of a field officer of the day. The night was dark 
and cloudy, and after midnight there was a drizzling 
rain. It was not anticipated by the governor or his of- 

* M' Afee's History of the Late War. f Ibid. 



LIFE OF Ti:CT7.MSEH. 151 

ficers,that an attack would be made during the night: it 
was supposed that if the Indians liad intended to act of- 
fensively, it would have been done on the march of the 
army, where situations presented themselves that would 
have given the Indians a great advantage. Indeed, 
within" three miles of the town, the army had passed 
over ground so broken and unfavorable to its march, 
that the position of the troops was necessarily changed, 
several times, in the course of a mile. The enemy, 
moreover, had fortified their town with care and great 
labor, as if they intended to act alone on the defensive. 
It was a favorite spot with the Indians, having long 
been the scene of those mysterious rites, performed by 
their Prophet, and by which they had been taught to 
believe that it was impregnable to the assaults of the 
white man. 

At four o'clock in the morning of the 7th, governor 
Harrison, according to his practice, had risen, prepara- 
tory to the calling up the troops; and was engaged, 
while drawing on his boots by the fire, in conversation 
with general Wells, colonel Owen, and majors Taylor 
and Hurst. The orderly-drum had been roused for the 
purpose of giving the signal for the troops to turn out, 
when the attack of the Indians suddenly commenced 
upon the left flank of the camp. The whole army 
was instantly on its feet ; the camp-fires were extin- 
guished ; the governor mounted his horse and proceed- 
ed to the point of attack. Several of the companies 
had taken their places in the line witliin Ibrty seconds 
from the report of the first gun ; and the whole of the 
troops were prepared for action in the course of two 
minutes; a fact as creditable to their own activity and 
bravery, as to the skill and energy of their officers. The 
battle soon became general, and was maintained on 
both sides with signal and even desperate valor. The 
Indians advanced and retreated by the aid of a rattling 
noise, made with deer hoofs, and persevered in their 
treacherous attack with an apparent determination to 
conquer or die upon the spot. The battle raged with un- 
abated fury and mutual slaughter, until daylight, when a 
gallant and successful charge by our troops, drove the 
enemy info the swamp, and put an end to the conflict. 



152 LIFE OF TECUMS.EH. 

Prior to the assault, the Prophet iiad given assuran 
ces to his followers, that iii the coming contest, th( 
Great Spirit would render the arms of the American: 
unavailing; that their bullets would fall harmless a 
the feet of the Indians ; that the latter should have lighi 
in abundance, while the former would be involved in 
thick darkness. Availing liimself of the privilege con 
ferred by his peculiar office, and, perhaps, unwilling in 
his own person to attest at once the rival powers of a 
sham prophecy and a real American bullet, he pru- 
dently took a position on an adjacent eminence ; and, 
when the action began, he entered upon the perform- 
ance of certain mystic rites, at the same time singing a 
war-song. In the course of the engagement, he was 
informed that his men were falling: he told them to 
fight on, — it would soon be as he had predicted ; and 
then, in louder and wilder strains, his inspiring battle- 
song was heard commingling with the sharp crack of 
the rifle and the shrill war-whoop of his brave but de- 
luded followers. 

Throughout the action, the Indians manifested more 
boldness and perseverance than had, perhaps, ever 
been exhibited by them on any former occasion. This 
was owing, it is supposd, to the influence of the Pro- 
phet, who by the aid of his incantations had inspired 
them with a belief that they would certainly overcome 
their enemy : the supposition, likewise, that they had 
taken the governor's army by surprise, doubtless con- 
tributed to the desperate character of their assaults. 
They were commanded by some daring chiefs, and al- 
though their spiritual leader was not actually in the 
battle, he did much to encourage his followers in their 
gallant attack. Of the force of the Indians engaged, 
there is no certain accoimt. The ordinary number at 
tlie Prophet's town during the preceding summer, was 
four hundred and fifty; but a few days before the 
action, they had been joined by all the Kickapoos of 
the prairie, and by several bands of the Potawatamies, 
from the Illinois river, and the St. Joseph's of lake 
Michigan. Their number on the night of the engage- 
ment was probably between eight hundred and one 
thousand. Some of the Indians who were in the ac- 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 153 

tion, subsequently informed the agent at fort Wayne, 
that there were more than a thousand warriors in the 
battle, and that the number of wounded was unusu- 
ally great. In the precipitation of their retreat, they 
left thirty-eight on the field ; some were buried during 
the engagement in their town, others no doubt died 
I subsequently of their wounds. The whole number of 
j their killed, was probably not less than fifty. 
; Of the army under governor Harrison, thirty-five 
were killed in the action, and twenty-five died subse- 
iquently of their wounds: the total numberof killed and 
' wounded was one hundred and eighty-eight. Among 
the former were the lamented colonel Abraham Owen 
land major Joseph Hamilton Davies, of Kentucky. 

Both officers and men behaved with much coolness 
and bravery, — qualities which, in an eminent degree, 
i marked the conduct of governor Harrison throughout 
t-he engagement. The peril to which he was subjected 
I may be inferred from the fact that a ball passed through 
, his stock, slightly bruising his neck ; another struck his 
I saddle, and glancing hit his thigh ; and a third wound- 
ed the horse on which he was riding. 

Peace on the frontiers was one of die happy results 
of this severe and brilliant action. The tribes which 
had already joined in the confederacy were dismayed ; 
and those which had remained neutral now decided 



CHAPTER X. 



Tecuinseh retums from the south — proposes to visit the President, hut tle- 
clines, because not permitted to go to Washington at the head of a p'ir- 
ty — attends a council at fort Wayne — proceeds to Maiden and joins the 
British — governor Harrison's letter to the War Department relative to 
the north-west tribes. 

DuKiNa the two succeeding days, the victorious ar- 
my remained in camp, for the purpose of burying the 
dead and taking care of the wounded. In the mean 
time, colonel Wells, with the mounted riflemen, visited 
the Prophet's town, and found it deserted by all the 



154 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. I 

Indians except one, whose leg had been broken in the 
action. The houses were mostly burnt, and the corn 
around the village destroyed. On the ninth the army 
commenced its return to Vincennes, having broken up 
or committed to the flames all their unnecessary bag- 
gage, in order that the wagons might be used for the 
transportation of the wounded. 

The defeated Indians were greatly exasperated with 
the Prophet : they reproached him in bitter terms for 
the calamity he had brought upon them, and accused 
him of the murder of their friends who had fallen in the 
action. It seems, that after pronouncing some incanta- 
tions over a certain composition, which he had prepa- 
red on the night preceding the action, he assured his 
followers, that by the power of his art, half of the inva- 
ding army was already dead, and the other half in a 
state of distraction ; and that the Indians would have 
little to do but rush into their camp, and complete the 
work of destruction with their tomahawks. " You are 
a bar,'' said one of the surviving Winnebagoes to him, 
after the action, " for you told us that the white people 
were dead or crazy, when they were all in their senses 
and fought like the devil." The Prophet appeared de- 
jected, and sought to excuse himself on the plea that 
the virtue of his composition had been lost by a cir- 
cumstance of which he had no knowledge until after 
the battle was over. His sacred character, however, 
was so far forfeited, that the Indians actually bound him 
with cords, and threatened to put him to death. After 
leaving the Prophet's town, they marched about twen- 
ty miles and encamped on the bank of Wild Cat creek. 

In a letter to the war department, dated fourth of 
December, governor Harrison writes : 

" I have the honor to inform you that two principal 
chiefs of the Kickapoos of the prairie, arrived here, 
bearing a flag, on the evening before last. The ac- 
count which they give of the late confederacy under the 
Prophet, is as follows : The Prophet, with his Shawa- 
noes, is at a small Huron village, about twelve miles 
frf xn his former residence, on this side of the Wabash, 
where also were twelve or fifteen Hurons. The Kick- 
apoos are encamped near the Tippecanoe, the Pota- 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 155 

watamies have scattered and gone to different villages 
of that tribe. Tiie Wnniebagoes had all set ont on 
their return to their own country, excepting one chief 
and nine men, who remamed at their former villages. 
The Prophet had sent a messenger to the Kickapoos of 
the prairie to request that he might be permitted to re- 
tire to their town. This was positively refused, and a 
warniiig sent to him not to come there. These chiefs 
say that the whole of the tribes who lost warriors in 
the late action, attribute their misfortune to the Pro- 
phet alone; that they constantly reproach him with their 
misfortunes, and threaten him with death; that they 
are all desirous of making their peace with the United 
States, and will send deputations to me for that pur- 
pose, as soon as they are informed that they will be 
well received. They further say, that the Prophet's 
followers were fully impressed with a belief that they 
could defeat us with ease ; that it was their intention 
to have attacked us at fort Harrison, if we had gone no 
higher ; that Racoon creek was then fixed on, and 
finally Pine creek, and that the latter would probably 
have been the place, if the usual route had not been 
abandoned, and a crossing made higher up ; that the 
attack made on our sentinels at fort Harrison was in- 
tended to shut the door against accommodation; that 
the Winnebagoes had forty warriors killed in the ac- 
tion, and the Kickapoos eleven, and ten wounded. 
They have never heard how many of the Potawata- 
mies and other tribes were killed." 

With the battle of Tippecanoe, the Prophet lost his 
popularity and power among the Indians. His magic 
Avand was broken, and the mysterious charm by means 
of which he had for years, played upon the supersti- 
tious minds of this wild people, scattered through a 
vast extent of country, Avas dissipated forever. It was 
not alone to the character of his prophetic office that he 
was indebted for his influence over his followers. The 
position which he maintained in rc3gard to the Indian 
lands, and the encroachments of the white people upon 
their hunting grounds, increased his popularity, which 
was likewise greatly strengthened by the respect and 
deference with which the politic Tecumseli — the mas- 



156 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

ter spirit of his day — uniformly treated him. He had, 
moreover, nimble wit, quickness of apprehension, much 
cunning and a captivating eloquence of speech. These 
qualities fitted him for playing his part with great sue 
cess; and sustaining for a series of years, the character 
of one inspired by the Great Spirit. He was, however, 
rash, presumptuous and deficient in judgment. And 
no sooner was he left without the sagacious counsel and 
positive control of Tecumseh, than he foolishly annihi- 
lated his own power, and suddenly crushed the grand 
confederacy upon which he and his brother had ex- 
pended years of labor, and in the organization of which 
they had incurred much personal peril and endured 
great privation. 

Tecumseh returned from the south through Missouri, 
visited the tribes on the Des Moins, and crossing the 
head waters of the Illinois, reached the Wabash a few 
days after the disastrous battle of Tippecanoe. It is 
believed that he made a strong impression upon all the 
tribes visited by him in his extended mission ; and that 
he had laid the foundation of numerous accessions to 
his confederacy. He reached the banks of the Tippe- 
canoe, just in time to witness the dispersion of his fol- 
lowers, the disgrace of his brother, and the final over- 
throw of the great object of his ambition, a union of 
all the Indian tribes against the United States : and all 
this, the result of a disregard to his positive commands. 
His mortification was extreme ; and it is related on 
good authority, that when he first met the Prophet, he 
reproached him in bitter terms for having departed 
from his instructions to preserve peace with the tjnited 
States at all hazards. The attempt of the Prophet to 
palliate his own conduct, excited the haughty chieftain 
still more, and seizing him by the hair and shaking 
him violently, he threatened to take his life. 

During the ensuing winter, there was peace on the 
frontiers. In the month of January, 1S12, Little Tur- 
tle, the celebrated Miami chief, wrote to governor Har- 
rison, that all the Prophet's followers had left him, 
except two camps of his own tribe, and that Tecumseh 
had just joined him with only eight men; from which 
he concluded there was no present danger to be appre- 



LIFE OF TECUMSKH. I •'57 

l->ended from them. Shortly alterwards, Tecumseli 
sent a message to governor Harrison inlbrming him of 
his return from the soutti ; and that he was now ready 
to make the promised visit to the President. The go- 
vernor repUed, giving his permission for Tecumseh to 
go to Washington, but not as the leader of any party 
of Indians. The chieftain, who had been accustomed 
to make his visits to Vincennes, attended by three or 
four hundred warriors, all completely armed, did not 
choose to present himself to his great father, the Presi- 
dent, shorn of his power and without his retinue. The 
visit was declined, and here terminated the intercourse 
between him and governor Harrison. 

Early in March, the peace of tlie frontiers was again 
disturbed by Indian depredations; and in the course of 
this and the following month, several families were 
murdered on the Wabash and Ohio rivers. On the 
15th of May, there was a grand council held at Missis- 
sini\/ay, which was attended by twelve tribes of Indi- 
ans. They all professed to be in favor of peace, and 
condemned the disturbances which had occurred be- 
tween the Indians and the settlers, since tlie battle of 
Tippecanoe. Tecumseh was present at this council 
and spoke several times. He defied any living crea- 
ture to say that he had ever advised any one, directly 
or indirectly, to make war upon the whites : it had 
constantly been his misfortune, he said, to have his 
views misrepresented to his white brethren, and this 
had been done by pretended chiefs of the Potawata- 
mies, who had been in the habit of selling land to the 
white people, which did not belong to them. " Gover- 
nor Harrison," he continued, " made war on my peo- 
ple in my absence : it was the will of God that he 
should do so. We hope it will please God that the 
white people will let us live in peace. We will not 
disturb them, neither have we done it, except when 
they came to our village with the intention of destroy- 
ing us. We are happy to state to our brothers present, 
that the unfortunate transaction that took place be- 
tween the white people and a few of ovu' young men 
at our village, has been settled between us and gover- 
nor Harrison ; and I will further state, that had I been 

O 



158: LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

at home, there would have been no bloodshed at that 
time/' 

In the mouth of June, foliowiug this council, Te- 
cumseh made a visit to fort Wayue, and sought an 
interview with the Indian agent at that place. Mis- 
fortune had not subdued his haughty spirit nor silenced 
the fearless expression of his feelings and opinions. 
He still maintained the justice of his position in regard 
to the ownership of the Indian lands, disavowed any 
intention of making war upon the United States, 
and reproached governor Harrison for having marched 
against his people during his absence. The agent made 
a long speech to him, presenting reasons why he should 
now become the friend and ally of the United States. 
To this harangue, Tecumseh listened with frigid indif- 
ference, made a few general remarks in reply, and then 
with a haughty air, left the council-house, and took his 
departure for Maiden, where he joined the British stand- 
ard. 

In taking leave of that part of our subject which 
relates to the confederacy of Tecumseh and the Pro- 
phet, and the principle on which it was established, we 
quote, as relevant to the case, and as an interesting 
piece of general history, the following letter from go- 
vernor Harrison to the Secretary of War : 

" Cincinnati, March 22, 1814. 
" Sir, — The tribes of Indians on this frontier and 
east of the Mississippi, with whom the United States 
have been connected by treaty, are the Wyandots, Del- 
awares, Shawanoes, Miamis, Potawatamies, Ottawas, 
Chippewas, Piankashaws, Kaskaskias and Sacs. All 
but tlie two last were in the confederacy which carried 
on the former Indian war against the United States, 
that was terminated by the treaty of Greenville. The 
Kaskaskias were parties to the treaty, but they had not 
been in the war. The Wyandots are admitted by the 
others to be the leading tribe. They hold the grand 
calumet, which unites them and kindles the council 
fire. This tribe is nearly equally divided between the 
Crane, at Sandusky, who is the grand sachem of the 
nation, and Walk-in-the-Water, at Brownstown, near 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 159 

)etroit. They claim the lauds bounded by the settle- 
neiits of this state, southwardly and eastwardly ; and 
»y lake Erie, the Miami river, and the claim of the 
)ha\vanoes upon the Auglaize, a branch of the latter, 
rhey also claim the lands they live on near Detroit, 
(Lit I am ignorant to what extent. 

"The Wyandots of Sandusky have adhered to us 
tirough the war. Their chief, the Crane, is a venera- 
te, intelligent and upright man. Within the tract of 
md claimed by the Wyandots, a number of Senecas 
re settled. They broke otf from their own tribe six 
T eight years ago, but received a part of the annuity 
rant'ed that tribe by the United States, by sending a 
eputation for it to Buffalo. The claim of the Wyan- 
.ots to the lands they occupy, is not disputed, that I 
:now of, by any other tribe. Their residence on it, 
Lowever, is not of long standing, and the country was 
ertainly once the property of the Miamis. 

" Passing westwardly from the Wyandots, we meet 
vith the Shawanoe settlement at Stony creek, a branch 
if the Great Miami, and at Wapauckanata, on the Au- 
glaize. These settlements were made immediately af- 
er the treaty of Greenville, and with the consent of the 
Miamis, whom I consider the real owners of these 
ands. The chiefs of this band of Shawanoes, Black- 
loof. Wolf and Lewis, are attached to us from prin- 
;iple as well as interest — they are all honest men. 

"The Miamis have their principal settlement at the 
orks of the Wabash, thirty miles from fort Wayne; 
.nd at Mississinaway, thirty miles lower down. A 
>and of them under the name of Weas, have resided 
►n the Wabash, sixty miles above Vincennes; and 
nother under the Turtle on Eel river, a branch of the 
rVabash, twenty miles north-west of fort Wayne. By 
m artifice of Little Turtle, these three bands were 
)assed on general Wayne as distinct tribes, and an an- 
luity granted to each. The Eel river and Weas, how- 
ever, to this day call themselves Miamis, and are re- 
Hjgiiized as such by the Mississinaway band. The 
Vliamis, Maumees or Tewicktowes, are the undoubted 
)roprietors of all that beautitul country which is water- 
}d by the Wal)ash and its branches ; and there is as 



160 i^IFi: OF TKCLrM:Sr:H. 

little doubt that their claim extended ut least as far ea; 
as the Scioto. They have no tradition of reinovin 
from any other quarter of the country; whereas all th 
neighboring tribes, the Piankishaws excepted, who ai 
a branch of the Miamis,are either intruders upon then 
or have been permitted to settle in their country. Th 
Wyandots emigrated first from lake Ontario, and sul 
sequently from lake Huron — the Delawares from Pern 
sylvania and Maryland — the Shawanoes from Georgi 
— the Kickapoos and Potawatamies from the countr 
between lake Michigan and the Mississippi — and th 
Ottawas and Chippewas from the peninsula forme 
by lakes Michigan, Huron and St. Clair, and the stra 
connecting the latter with Erie. The claims of th 
Miamis were bounded on the north and west by thos 
of the Illinois confederacy, consisting originally of fiv 
tribes, called Kaskaskias, Cahokias, Peorians, Mich 
ganians, and Temorais, speaking the Miami languag 
and no doubt branches of that nation. 

"When I was first appointed governor of Indian 
territory, these once powerful tribes were reduced t 
about thirty warriors, of Avhom twenty-five were Ka 
kaskias, four Peorians, and a single Michiganian. Thei 
was an individual lately alive at St. Louis, who sa^ 
the enumeration made of them by the Jesuits in th 
year 1745, making the number of their warriors foi 
thousand. A furious war between them and the Sac 
and Kickapoos, reduced them to that miserable ren 
nant, which had taken refuge amongst the white peop! 
of the towns of Kaskaskias and St. Genevieve. Th 
Kickapoos had fixed their principal village at Peori; 
upon the south bank of the Illinois river, while th 
Sacs remained masters of the country to the north. 

" During the war of our Revolution, the Miamis ha 
invited the Kickapoos into their country to assist thei 
against the whites, and a considerable village was forn 
ed by that tribe on Vermillion river, near its junctio 
with the Wabash. After the treaty of Greenville, th 
Delawares had, with the approbation of the Miami; 
removed from the mouth of the Auglaize to the hea 
waters of White river, a large branch of the Wabas 
—and the Potawatamies, without their consentj iia 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 161 

formed two villages upon the latter river, one at Tip- 
pecanoe, and the other at Chippoy, twenty-five miles 
below. 

" The Piankishaws lived in the neighborhood of Vin- 
cennes, which was their ancient village, and claimed 
the lands to the mouth of the Wabash, and to the north 
and west as far as the Kaskaskias claimed. Such was 
the situation of the tribes, when I received instructions 
from President Jefferson, shortly after his first election, 
to make efforts for extinguishing the Indian claims 
upon the Ohio, below the mouth of the Kentucky river, 
and to such other tracts as were necessary to connect 
and consolidate our settlements. It was at once deter- 
mined, that the community of interests in the lands 
amongst the Indian tribes, which seemed to be recog- 
nized by the treaty of Greenville, should be objected 
to ; and that each individual tribe should be protected 
in every claim that should appear to be founded in 
reason and justice. But it was also determined, that 
as a measure of policy and liberality, such tribes as 
lived upon any tract of land which it would be desira- 
ble to purchase, should receive a portion of the com- 
pensation, althou2:h the title might be exclusively in 
another tribe. Upon this principle the Delawares, 
Shawanoes, Potawatamies, and Kickapoos, were ad- 
mitted as parties to several of the treaties. Care was 
taken, however, to place the title to such tracts as might 
be desirable to purchase hereafter, upon a footing that 
would facilitate the procuring of them, by getting the 
tribes who had no claim themselves, and who might 
probably interfere, to recognize the titles of those who 
were ascertained to possess them. 

" This was particularly the case with regard to the 
lands watered by the Wabash, which were declared to 
be the property of the Miamis, with the exception of 
the tract occupied by the Delawares on White river, 
which was to be considered the joint property of them 
and the Miamis. This arrangement was very much 
disliked by Tecumseh, and the banditti that he had as- 
sembled at Tippecanoe. He complained loudly, as 
well of the sales that had been made, as of the princi- 
ple of considering a particular tribe as the exclusive 
o 2 



162 LIFE OP TECUMSEH. 

proprietors of any part of the country, which he said 
the Great Spirit had given to all his red children. Be- 
sides the disatfected amongst the neighboring tribes, he 
had brought together a considerable number of Winne- 
bagoes and FoLsovoins, from the neighborhood of Green 
Bay, Sacs from the Mississippi, and some Ottawas and 
Chippewas from Abercrosh on lake Michigan. These 
people were better pleased with the climate and coun- 
try of the Wabash, than with that they had left. 

" The Miamis resisted the pretensions of Tecumseh 
and his followers for some time ; but a system of terror 
was adopted, and the young men were seduced by 
eternally placing before them a picture of labor, and 
restriction as to hunting, to which the system adopted 
would inevitably lead. The Potawatamies and other 
tribes inhabiting the Illinois river and south of lake 
Michigan, had been for a long time approaching gradu- 
ally towards the Wabash. Their country, which was 
never abundantly stocked with game, was latterly al- 
most exhausted of it. The fertile regions of the Wa- 
bash still afforded it. It was represented, that the pro- 
gressive settlements of the whites upon that river, 
would soon deprive them of their only resource, and 
indeed would force the Indians of that river upon them 
who were already half starved. 

^^ It is a fact, that for many years the current of emi- 
gration, as to the tribes east of the Mississippi, has been 
from north to south. This is owing to two causes; the 
diminution of those animals from which the Indians 
procure their support ; and the pressure of the two 
great tribes, the Chippewas and Sioux, to the north 
and west. So long ago as the treaty of Greenville, the 
Potawatamies gave notice to the Miamis, that they 
intended to settle upon the Wabash. They made no 
pretensions to the country, and their only excuse for 
the intended aggression was, that they were " tired of 
eating fish and wanted meat.^' It has already been 
observed that the Sacs had extended themselves to the 
Illinois river, and that the settlements of the Kickapoos 
at the Peorias was of modern date. Previously to the 
commencement of the present war, a.considerable num- 
ber hiid joined their brethren on the Wabash. The 



LIFE Oi' TECUMSEH. 163 

Tawas from the Des Moins river, have twice made at- 
tempts to get a footing there. 

•¥ * * V ir V 

" The question of the title to the lands south of the 
Wabash, has been thoroughly examined ; every oppor- 
tunity was afforded to Tecumseh and his party to ex- 
hibit their pretensions, and tliey were found to rest 
upon no other basis than that of their being the com- 
mon property of all the Indians. The Potawatamies 
and Kickapoos have unequivocally acknowledged the 
Miami and Delaware titles." 



CHAPTER XI. 

I^ecumsch participates in the battle of Brovvnstown — commands the Indi- 
ans in the action near Mas:ua5a — present at Hull's surrender — general 
Brock presents him his military sash — attack on Chicago brought about 
by Tecumseh. 

On the ISth of June, 1812, the congress of the United 
States made a formal declaration of war against Great 
Britain. This gave a new aspect to affairs on the 
north-western frontier ; and at the first commencement 
of hostilities between these two powers, Tecumseh was 
in the field, prepared for the conflict. In the month of 
July, when general Hull crossed over from Detroit into 
Canada, this chief, with a party of thirty Potawatamies 
and Shawanoes, was at Maiden. About the same time 
there was an assemblage at Brovvnstown, opposite to 
Maiden, of those Indians who were inclined to neu- 
trality in the war. A deputation was sent to the latter 
place, inviting Tecumseh to attend this council. " No," 
said he, indignantly, " I have taken sides with the 
King, my father, and I will suffer my bones to bleach 
upon this shore, before I will recross that stream to 
join in any council of neutrality." In a few days he 
gave evidence of the sincerity of this declaration, by 
personally commanding the Indians in the first action 
that ensued after the declaration of war.* 

* Anthony Shane. 



164 LIFE OF TECUIVISEH. 

Early in August, general Hull, then in Detroit, wa; 
notified by express ihat a company of Ohio volnnteerd- 
under the command of captain Heiny Brush, with pro- 
visions for the army, were near the river Raisin, and 
needed an escort, as it had been ascertained that some 
British and a considerable body of Indians, under the 
command of Tecumseh, had crossed from Maiden to 
Brownstown, with a view to intercept this convoy. 
General Hull, after some delay, gave a reluctant con- 
sent to the colonels of the Ohio militia, that a detach- 
ment of troops might march to the relief of colonel 
Brush. Major Van Home, with a small body of men, 
started as an escort to the mail, with orders to join cap- 
tain Brush at the river Raisin. He set off on the fourth 
of August, marching that evening as far as the river 
De Corce. On the next day, captain McCullough of 
the spies, was killed by some Indians. In the course 
of the succeeding one, near Brownstown, the detach- 
ment under major Van Home was suddenly attacked 
by the Indians, who were lying in ambush. Appre- 
hensive of being surrounded and entirely cut oft', the 
major ordered a retreat, which was continued to the 
river De Corce, the enemy pursuing them to that point. 
Our loss was seventeen killed, besides several wounded, 
who were left behind. Among the former were cap- 
tains Ulry, Gilchrist, Boersler, lieutenant Pents, and 
ensign Ruby. The loss of so many officers resulted 
from their attempts to rally the men. The loss of the 
enemy was supposed to be equal to that sustained by 
major Van Home. There were about forty British 
soldiers and seventy Indians in this engagement, the 
latter being commanded by Tecumseh in person. 

After general Hull had ingloriously retreated from 
Canada, he detached colonel Miller, with majors Van 
Home and Morrison, and a body of troops, amounting 
to six hundred, to make a second eftbrt to reach cap- 
tain Brush. They were attended by some artillerists 
with one six pounder and a howitzer. The detach- 
ment marched from Detroit on the eighth, and in the 
afternoon of the ninth the front guard, commanded by 
captain Snelling, was fired upon by a line of British 
and Indians, about two miles below the village of Ma- 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 165 

guaga. At the moment of the attack, the main body 
was marcliiiig in two hnes, and captain Snelhng main- 
tained his position in a gallant manner, until the line 
was formed and marched to the ground he occupied, 
where the whole, except the rear guard, was brought 
into action. The British were entrenched behind a 
breast-work of logs, with the Indians on the left cover- 
ed by a thick wood. Colonel Miller ordered his whole 
line to advance, and when within a short distance of 
the enemy, fired upon them, and immediately followed 
it up by a charge with fixed bayonets, when the whole 
British line and the Indians commenced a retreat. 
They were vigorously pursued for near two miles. 
The Indians on the left were commanded by Tecum- 
seh, and fought with great bravery, but were forced to 
retreat. Our loss in this severe and well fought action 
was ten killed and thirty-two wounded of the regular 
troops, and eight killed and twenty-eight wounded of 
the Ohio and Michigan militia. The full extent of the 
force of the enemy is not known. There were four 
hundred regulars and Canadian militia, under com- 
mand of major Muir, and a considerable body of In- 
dians under Tecnmseh. Forty of the latter were found 
dead on the field : fifteen of the British regulars were 
killed and wounded, and four taken prisoners. The loss 
of the Canadian militia and volunteers, was never as- 
certained, but is supposed, from the position which they 
occupied in the action, to have been considerable. 
Both major Muir and Tecnmseh were wounded. The 
bravery and good conduct of the latter, in this engage- 
ment, are supposed to have led to his being shortly 
afterwards appointed a brigadier general, in the service 
of the British king. 

When Detroit was captured, on the 16th of August, 
Tecumseh was at the head of the Indians. After the 
surrender, general Brock requested him not to allow 
his men to ill-treat (he prisoners, to which he replied, 
"no! I despise them too much to meddle with them.''* 

"Tecumseh was an excellent judge of position; and 
not oni}" knew, but could point out the localities of the 



* Book of the Indians, by S. G. Drake. 



160 LIFB OF TECUMSEII. 

whole country through which he passed. His facility 
of communicating the information he had acquired, 
was thus displayed before a concourse of spectators. 
Previously to general Brock's crossing over to Detroit, 
he asked him what sort of a country he should have to 
pass through, in case of his proceeding farther. Te- 
cumseh, taking a roll of elm bark, and extending it on 
the ground by means of four stones, drew forth his 
scalping knife, and with the point presently etched 
upon the bark a plan of the country, its hills, rivers, 
woods, morasses and roads ; a plan which, if not as 
neat, was for the purpose required, fully as intelligible 
as if Arrowsmith himself had prepared it. Pleased 
with this unexpected talent in Tecumseh, also by his 
having, with his characteristic boldness, induced the In- 
dians, not of his immediate party, to cross the Detroit, 
prior to the embarkation of the regulars and militia, 
general Brock, as soon as the business was over, pub- 
licly took ofl' his sash, and placed it round the body of 
the chief Tecumseh received the honor with evident 
gratification ; but was next day seen without his sash. 
General Brock fearing something had displeased the 
Indian, sent his interpreter for an explanation. The 
latter soon returned with an account, that Tecumseh, 
not wishing to wear such a mark of distinction, when 
an older, and as he said, abler warrior than himself, was 
present, had transferred the sash to the Wyandot chief, 
Roundhead."* 

On the 15th of August, the garrison of Chicago, situa- 
ted in the south-western bend of lake Michigan, — con- 
sisting of about seventy men, with some women and 
children, — were attacked by a large body of Indians, 
who had been lying around the fort for some time, pro- 
fessing neutrality. The whole were either murdered 
or taken prisoners. The garrison, under the direction 
of captains Heald and Wells, having destroyed the fort 
and distributed the public stores among the Indians, 
was about to retreat towards fort Wayne. As the In- 
dians around Chicago had not yet taken sides in the 
war, the garrison would probably have escaped, had 

* James' Military Occurrences of the Late War. 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 1G7 

ot Tecamseh, immediately after the attack upon major 
^arihorn, at Brovvnstowii, sent a runner to these In- 
ians, claiming the victory over that officer; and con- 
eying to them information that general Hull had re- 
irned to Detroit; and that there was every prospect 
f success over him. This intelligence reached the In- 
ians the night previous the evacuation of Chicago, 
nd led them at once, as Tecumseh had anticipated, to 
ecome the allies of the British army. 

At the period of colonel Campbell's expedition against 
16 Mississinaway towns, in the month of December, 
^ecumseh was in that neighborhood, with about six 
undred Indians, whose services he had engaged as 
ilies of Great Britian. He was not in the battle of the 
iver Raisin on the 22d of January. Had he been 
resent on that occasion, the known magnanimity of 
is character, justifies the belief that the horrible mas- 
acre of prisoners, which followed that action, would 
ot have taken place. Not only the savages, but their 
av^age leaders. Proctor and Elliott, would have been 
eld in check, by a chief who, however daring and 
readful in the hour of battle, was never known to ill- 
reat or murder a prisoner. 



CHAPTER XH. 



iege of fort Meigs — Tecumseh commands the Indians — acts with intrepid- 
ity — rescues tlie American prisoners from the tomahawk and scalping 
knife, after Dudley's defeat — reported agreement between Proctor and 
Tecumseh, that general Harrison, if taken prisoner, should be delivered 
to the latter to be burned. 

Fort Meigs, situated on the south-east side of the 
^liami of the lakes, and at the foot of the rapids of that 
tream, was an octagonal enclosure, with eight block 
louses, picketed with timber, and surrounded by ditch- 
s. It was two thousand five hundred yards in cir- 
umference, and required, to garrison it with efficiency, 
.bout two thousand men. It was constructed under 
he immediate superintendence of colonel E. D. Wood, 



168 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

of the corps of engineers, one of the most scientific an 
gallant officers of the late war. This post, which W£ 
established in the spring of 1813, was important nc 
only for the protection of the frontiers, but as the depc 
for the artillery, military stores and provisions, neces 
sary for the prosecution of the ensuing campaigr 
These circumstances could not fail to attract the atter 
tion of the enemy; and the commander of the Amer: 
can army was not disappointed in supposing that foi 
Meigs would be the first point of attack, upon th 
opening of the spring, by the combined forces of Proc 
tor and Tecumseh. 

In the latter part of March, intelligence reached thi 
post that Proctor had issued a general order for asserr 
bling the Canadian mihtia at Sandwich, on the 7th o 
April, to unite in an expedition against fort Meig: 
This information gave a fresh impulse to the effort 
then making to render the fort, which was still in a 
unfinished state, as strong as possible. On the Sth o 
April, colonel Ball arrived with two hundred dragoons 
and on the 12th general Harrison reached the fort wit 
three hundred men from the posts on the Auglaize an 
St. Mary's. Vigorous preparations were now made fc 
the anticipated siege. On the 19th, a scouting part 
returned from the river Raisin, with three Frenchmei 
who stated that the British were still making arrange 
ments for an attack on this post ; and were assemblin 
a very large Indian force. They informed general Hai 
rison that Tecumseh and the Prophet had reache 
Sandwich, with about six hundred Indians, collecte 
in the country between lake Michigan and the Wabasl 
This intelligence removed the apprehension entertahie 
by the general, that the Indians intended to fall upo 
the posts in his rear, while Proctor should attack foi 
Meigs. On the 26th, the advance of the enemy wa 
discovered at the mouth of the bay ; and on the 2Stl 
the British and Indian forces were found to be withi 
a few miles of the fort. At this time, only a part o 
the troops destined for the defence of the place, ha 
arrived ; but the remainder, under the command o 
general Green Clay, of Kentucky, were daily expectec 
So soon as the fort was actually invested by the In 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 169 

dians, an express was sent by the comn:iander-ih-chief, 
to inform general Clay of the fact, and direct his subse- 
quent movements. This dangerous enterprise — for the 
Indians were already in considerable numbers around 
the fort — was undertaken and successfully executed by 
captain William Oliver,* a gallant young officer be- 
longing to the commissary's department, who, to a fa- 
miliar acquaintance with the geography of the country 
united much knowledge of Indian warfare. Attended 
by a white man and a Delaware Indian, Oliver travers- 
ed the country to fort Findlay, thence to fort Amanda, 
and finally met with general Clay at fort Winchester, 
on the 2d of May, and communicated to him general 
Harrison's instructions. 

Soon after OUver had started on this enterprise, the 
gunboats of the enemy approached the site of old fort 
Miami, on the opposite side of the river, about two 
miles below fort Meigs. In the course of the ensuing 
night they commenced the erection of three batteries, 
opposite the fort on a high bank, about three hundred 
yards from the river, the intermediate space of ground 
being o^^en and partly covered with water. Two of 
them were gun batteries, with four embrasures, and 
were situated higher up the river than the fort; the 
third was a bomb battery, placed a short distance be- 
low. Early the next morning, a fire was opened upon 
them from the fort, which, to some extent, impeded the 

* Now Major William Oliver, of Cincinnati. It is but an act of justice 
to this gentleman to state that, for the voluntary performance of this ser- 
vice, he refused all pecuniary compensation. General Harrison subse- 
quently, in a letter to major Oliver, in relation to this service, says. " To 
prevent the possibility of these orders coming to the knowledge of the ene- 
my, they could not be committed to v/riting, but must be communicated 
verbally, by a confidential officer. Tiie selection of one suited to the per- 
formance of this important trust was a matter of no little diihculty. To 
the qualities of undoubted patriotism, moral firmness, as well as active cour- 
age, sagacity and prudence, it was necessary that he should unite a tho- 
rough knowledge of the country through which the troops were to pass, 
and of all the localities of the position upon which they were advancing. 
Without the latter, the possession of the former would be useless, and the 
absence of either of the former might render the 'atter not only useless, but 
in the highest degree mischievous. Although there was no coincidence 
between the performance of this duty and those which appertained to tha 
department of the staflfin which you held an appointment, [the commissariat] 
I did not long hesitate in fixing on you for this service." 

P 



170 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

progress of the works. On the morning of the 30th, the 
enemy, under a heavy and somewhat fatal fire from the 
guns of the fort, raised and adjusted their cannon, while 
at the same time, a number of boats filled Avith Indians 
were seen crossing to the south-eastern side of the river. 

On the morning of the first of May, the British bat- 
teries were completed ; and about ten o'clock, the ene- 
my appeared to be adjusting their guns on certain ob- 
jects in the fort. " By this time our troops had comple- 
ted a grand traverse, about twelve feet high, upon a 
base of twenty feet, three hundred yards long, on the 
most elevated ground through the middle of the camp, 
calculated to ward off the shot of the enemy's batteries. 
Orders were given for all the tents in front to be in- 
stantly removed into its rear, which was effected in a 
few minutes, and that beautiful prospect of cannona- 
ding and bombarding our lines, which but a few mo- 
ments before had excited the skill and energy of the 
British engineer, was now entirely fled ; and in its 
place nothing was to be seen but an immense shield of 
earth, which entirely obscured the whole army. Not 
a tent nor a single person was to be seen. Those can- 
vas houses, which had concealed the growth of the 
traverse from the view of the enemy, were now protect- 
ed and hid in their turn. The prospect of smoking us 
out, was now at best but very faint. But as neither 
general Proctor nor his officers were yet convinced of 
the folly and futility of their laborious preparations, 
their batteries were opened, and five days were spent 
in arduous cannonading and bombarding, to bring 
them to this salutary conviction. A tremendous can- 
nonading was kept up all the rest of the day, and 
shells were thrown until 11 o'clock at night. Very lit- 
tle damage, however, was done in the camp ; one or two 
wore killed, and three or four wounded ; among the 
latter was major Amos Stoddard, of the first regiment 
of artillery, a survivor of the revolution, and an officer 
of much merit. He was wounded slightly with a piece 
of shell, and about ten days afterwards died with the 
lock-jaw. 

" The fire of the enemy was returned from the fort 
with one eighteen pounder with some efiect, though 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 171 

but sparingly, for the stock of eighteen pound shot was 
but small, there being but three hundred and sixty of 
that size in the fort when the siege commenced ; and 
about the same number for the twelve pounders."* 

Throughout the whole of the second day the firing 
was continued with great spirit, but without doing 
much damage on either side. General Harrison, in 
anticipation of a transfer of the enemy's guns to the 
other side of the river, and the establishment of batte- 
ries to play upon the centre or tlanks of the camp, had 
directed the construction of works calculated to resist 
such an attack ; and they were in a state of considera- 
ble forwardness on the morning of the third, when, 
from the the bushes on the left of the fort, three field 
pieces and a howitzer were suddenly opened upon the 
camp by the enemy. The fire was returned with such 
effect, that general Proctor was soon compelled to 
change his position. His batteries Avere again opened 
on the camp from another point, but without doing 
: much injury. On the fourth, the fire of the enemy 
i was renewed, but with less energy than on the pre- 
vious days, the result, it is supposed, of a belief that 
their efforts to reduce the fort would fail. General 
I Harrison was waiting the arrival of general Clay with 
I his reinforcements. Late in the night of the fourth, 
I captain Oliver, accompanied by majors David Trimble 

! and Taylor, with fifteen Ohio militia, having left 

general Clay above the rapids, started in a boat for the 
fort, that the commanding general, by knowing the 
position of the reinforcements, might form his plans for 
the ensuing day. The effort to reach the fort under 
the existing circumstances was extremely dangerous. 
Captain Leslie Combs had already attempted it, and 
failed. He had been sent by colonel Dudley, upon his 
arrival at Defiance, to inform general Harrison of the 
fact. With five men, the captain approached within a 
mile of the fort, when he was attacked by the Indians, 
and compelled to retreat after a gallant resistance, in 
which nearly all his companions were killed. When 
Oliver drew near the fort, the night was extremely 

» M'Aflee. 



172 LIFE OF TECUMSEHi 

dark, and he was only enabled to discover the spot hf 
the spreadhig branches of a solitary oak tree, standing 
within the fortification. The boat was fired upon by 
the sentinels of the fort, but on their being hailed by 
captain Oliver, no further alarm was given. After 
landing and wading over a ravine filled with water, 
the party groped their way to one of the gates, and' 
were admitted. Tecumseh and his Indians were ex- 
tremely vigilant, and, at night, usually came close to 
the ramparts for the purpose of annoying our troops, 
as opportunity might offer. So soon as general Harri- 
son had received the information brought by captain 
Oliver and his companions, he made his arrangements 
for the ensuing day. Captain Hamilton, attended by a 
subaltern, was immediately despatched up the river in 
a canoe with orders to general Clay. The captain met 
him at daylight five miles above the fort, the boats 
conveying the reinforcements having been delayed by 
the darkness of the night. Captain Hamilton deliver- 
ed the following order to general Clay. " You must 
detach about eight hundred men from your brigade, 
and land them at a point I will show you about a mile 
or a mile and a half above camp Meigs. I will then 
conduct the detachment to the British batteries on the 
left bank of the river. The batteries must be taken, 
the cannon spiked, and the carriages cut down ; and 
the troops must then return to their boats and cross 
over to the fort. The balance of your men must land 
on the fort-side of the river, opposite the first landing, 
and fight their way into the fort through the Indians. 
The route they must take will be pointed out by a 
subaltern officer now with me, who will land the canoe 
on the right bank of the river to point out the land- 
ing for the boats."* As soon as these orders were re- 
ceived by general Clay, who was in the thirteenth boat 
from the front, he directed captain Hamilton to go to 
colonel Dudley, with orders to take the twelvt front 
boats and execute the plan of the commanding general 
on the left bank of the river; and to post the subaltern 
with the canoe on the right bank, at the point Avhere 

» M'Affee. 



LIFE or TECUMSEIl. 17B 

the remainder of the reinforcement was directed to 
land. It was the design of general Harrison while the 
troops under Dudley were destroying the enemy's bat- 
teries on the north-west side of the river, and general 
Clay was fighting the Indians above the fort on the 
south-east side, to send out a detachment to take and 
spike the British guns on the south side. 

" General Clay ordered the five remaining boats to 
fall behind the one occupied by him; but in attempting 
to do so, they were driven on shore, and thus thrown 
half a mile into the rear. The general kept close to 
the right bank, intending to land opposite to the detach- 
ment under Dudley, but finding no guide there, and the 
Indians having commenced a brisk fire on his boat, he 
attempted to cross to the detachment. The current, 
however, was so swift, that it soon carried him too far 
down for that project ; he therefore turned back, and 
landed on the right bank further down. Captain Peter 
Dudley, with a part of his company, was in this boat, 
making in the whole upwards of fifty men, who now 
marched into camp without loss, amidst a shower of 
grape from the British batteries and the fire of some In- 
dians. The boat with their baggage and four sick sol- 
diers, was left, as the general supposed, in the care of 
two men who met him at his landing, and by whom he 
expected she would be brought down under the guns 
of the fort. In a few minutes, however, she fell into 
the hands of the Indians. The attempt which he had 
made to cross the river, induced colonel Boswell, with 
the rear boats, to land on the opposite side ; but as soon 
as captain Hamilton discovered the error under which 
he was acting, he instructed him to cross over and fight 
his way into camp. When he arrived at the south side, 
he was annoyed on landing by the Indians ; and as soon 
as his men were on shore, he formed them and returned 
the fire of the enemy; at the same time he was direct- 
ed by captain Shaw, from the commanding general, to 
march in open order, through the plain, to the fort. As 
there was now a large body of Indians on his flank, 
general Harrison determined to send out a reinforce- 
ment from the garrison to enable him to beat them. 
Accordingly, Alexander's brigade, a part of Johnson's 

p 2 



174 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

battalion, and the companies of captains Neanng anc 
Dudley, were ordered to prepare for this duty. Wher. 
the Kentuckians reached the gates of the ibrt, these 
troops were ready to join them. Having formed in 
order — colonel Boswell being on the right, — they march- 
ed against the Indians, who were superior to them in 
numbers, and at the point of the bayonet, forced themi 
into tlie woods to the distance of half a mile or more. 
Such was the ardor of our troops, in the pm*suit, that 
it was difficult, especially for the Kentucky officers, to 
induce their men to return. 

General Harrison had now taken a position on one 
of the batteries of the fort, that he might see the various 
movements which at this moment claimed his attention. 
He soon perceived a detachment of British and Indians 
passing along the edge of the woods, with a view to 
reach the left and rear of the corps under Bosvvell : he 
forthwith despatched his volunteer aid, John T. John- 
ston, to recall the troops under Boswell from the pur- 
suit. Johnston's horse having been killed before he 
delivered this order, it was repeated through major 
Graham, and a retreat was commenced: the Indians 
promptly rallied and boldly pursued them for some dis- 
tance, killing and wounding a number of our troops. 
So soon as the commanding general perceived that 
colonel Dudley and his detachment had reached the 
batteries on the northern bank of the river, and entered 
successfully upon the execution of the duty assigned 
them, he ordered colonel John Miller of the regulars to 
make a sortie from the fort, against the batteries which 
the enemy had erected on the south side of the river. 
The detachment assigned to colonel Miller, amounted 
to about three hundred and fifty men, composed of the 
companies and parts of companies of captains Langham, 
Croghan, Bradford, Nearing, Elliott, and lieutenants 
G Wynne and Campbell of the regular troops ; the vo- 
lunteers of Alexander's battalion; and captain Sebree's 
company of Kentucky militia. Colonel Miller and his 
men charged upon the enemy, and drove them from 
their position; spiked the cannon at their batteries, and 
secured forty-one prisoners. The force of the enemy, 
thus driven and defeated, consisted of two hundred 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 1*?5 

British regulars, one hundred and fifty Canadians and 
about five liundred Indians, under the immediate com- 
mand of Tecumseh, in all more than double the force 
of the detachment under colonel Miller. In this sortie, 
captain Sebree's company of militia, was particularly 
distinguished. With the intrepid bravery and reckless 
ardor for which the Kentucky troops are noted, they 
plunged into the thickest ranks of the enemy, and were 
for a time surrounded by the Indians, who gallantly 
pressed upon them ; but they maintained their ground, 
until lieutenant Gwynne,* of the 1 9th regiment, per- 
ceiving their imminent peril, boldly charged upon the 
Indians, with a portion of captain Elliott^s company, 
and released captain Sebree and his men from their 
dangerous situation. Had the force of colonel Miller 
been something stronger, he would probably have cap- 
tured the whole of the enemy, then on the south side 
of the river. The British and Indians suffered severe- 
ly, being finally driven back and thrown into confusion. 
As colonel Miller commenced his return to the fort, the 
enemy rallied and pressed with great bravery upon his 
rear, until he arrived near the breast-works. A con- 
siderable number of our soldiers were left dead on the 
field, and several officers were wounded. 

Colonel Dudley's movements on the north side of the 
river, are now to be noticed. A landing was effected 
by his detachment, which was immediately marched 
off, through an open plain, to a hill clothed with tim- 
ber. Here the troops were formed into three columns, 
colonel Dudley placing himself at the head of the right, 
major Shelby leading the left, and captain Morrison, 
acting as major, the centre. The distance from the 
place where the detachment was formed in order, to 
the point to be attacked, was near two miles. The bat- 
teries were engaged in cannonading camp Meigs, when 
the column led by major Shelby, being a few hundred 
yards in advance of the others, rushed at full speed up- 
on those having charge of the guns, and carried them 
without the loss of a single man. When the British 
flag was cut down, the garrison of fort Meigs shouted 

* Major David Gwynne, now of Cincinnati. 



17^ tlFB OP TECUMSEH. 

for joy. The grand object of the enterprise having 
been achieved, the general, who was watching th( 
movements of the detachment, made signs to them tc 
retreat to their boats ; but to his great surprise, and ir 
express disobedience of the orders transmitted through 
colonel Hamilton, our troops remained at the batteries, 
quietly looking around, without spiking the cannon.l 
cutting down the carriages or destroying the magazines.! 
This delay proved fatal to them. The general, alarm- 
ed for their safety, now offered a very high reward to| 
any individual who would bear fresh orders to colonel 
Dudley and his men, to return tq their boats and cross 
over the river to the fort. The service was undertaken 
by lieutenant Campbell. *• About the time when the 
batteries were taken, a body of Indians, lying in am- 
bush, had fired on a party of spies under captain 
Combs, who had marched down on the extreme left of 
the detachment. Presently colonel Dudley gave orders 
to reinforce the spies, and the greater part of the right 
and centre columns rushed into the woods in confu- 
sion, with their colonel among them — to fight the In- 
dians, whom they routed and pursued near two miles. 
The left column remained in possession of the batte- 
ries, till the fugitive artillerists returned with a rein- 
forcement from the main British camp, and attacked 
them. Some of them were then made prisoners, others 
fled to the boats, and a part, who were rallied by the 
exertions of their major, marched to the aid of colonel 
Dudley. The Indians had also been reinforced, and 
the confusion in which major Shelby found the men 
under Dudley, was so great as to amount to a cessation 
of resistance ; while the savages, skulking around them, 
continued the work of destruction in safety. At last a 
retreat commenced in disorder, but the greater part of 
the men were captured by the Indians, or surrendered 
to the British at the batteries. The gallant but unfor- 
tunate colonel Dudley, after being wounded, was over- 
taken and despatched with the tomahawk. The num- 
ber of those who escaped and got into the fort, out of 
the whole detachment, was considerably below two 
hundred. Had the orders which colonel Dudley rc- 
cieved, been duly regarded, or a proper degree of judg- 



LIFK OF TECUMSEH. J'77 

I ment exercised on the occasion, the day would certain- 
; ly have been an important one for tlie country, and a 
' glorious one for the army. Every thing might have 
I been accomplished agreeably to the wishes and inten- 
! tions of the general, with the loss of but few men. 
1 When the approach of the detachment under Dudley 
! was reported to Proctor, he supposed it to be the main 
i force of the American army, from which he was appre- 
: hensive that he might sustain a total defeat : he there- 
fore recalled a large portion of his British and Indians 
I from the opposite shore. They did not arrive, how- 
iever, in time to partake in the contest on the north 
iside.""^ 

After the fighting had ceased on the fifth, the British 

general sent a flag to the fort by major Chambers, and 

his introduction to general Harrison was succeeded by 

I the following significant dialogue : 

; *' Major Chmnhers. General Proctor has directed 

' me to demand the surrender of this post. He wishes 

to spare the effusion of blood. 

" General Harrison. The demand, under present 
circumstances, is a most extraordinary one. As gener- 
al Proctor did not send me a summons to surrender on 
his first arrival, I had supposed that he believed me 
determined to do my duty. His present message indi- 
cates an opinion of me that I am at a loss to account for. 
" Major Chambers. General Proctor could never 
think of saying anything to wound your feelings, sir. 
The character of general Harrison, as an officer, is well 
known. General Proctor's force is very respectable, 
and there is with him a larger body of Indians than has 
ever before been embodied. 

" General Harrison. I believe I have a very cor- 
rect idea of general Proctor's force ; it is not such as to 
create the least apprehension for the result of the con- 
test, whatever shape he may be pleased hereafter to 
give it. Assure the general, however, that he will 
never have this post surrendered to him upon any 
terms. Should it fall into his hands, it will be in a 
manner calculated to do him more honor, and to give 



M'AfFee. 



lT8 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

him larger claims upon the gratitude of his governmei[ 
than any capitulation could possibly do " 

The siege was continued, but without any very a< 
live efforts against the fort, until the morning of the 9t 
of May, when the enemy retreated down the baj 
leaving behind them a quantity of cannon balls, an 
other valuable articles. 

The force under general Proctor amounted, as nearl 
as could be ascertained, to six hundred regulars, eigb 
hundred Canadian miUtia, and about eighteen hundrei 
Indians. The number of troops under general Harri 
son, including those which arrived on the morning oi 
the fifth, under general Clay, was about twelve hun 
dred in all. The number fit for duty did not, perhaps 
equal eleven hundred. 

The number of the American troops killed and mas 
sacred on the north side of the river, was upwards ol 
seventy. One hundred and eighty-nine were wound 
ed, and eighty-one killed, in the two sorties from th( 
fort. The loss of the British and Indians, in killec 
and wounded, could never be satisfactorily ascertained 
That it was very considerable, there can be no doubt. 

The enemy brought against fort Meigs a combined 
army of near three thousand men, under Proctor, Elli- 
ott and Tecumseh, and prepared, by a train of artillery 
for vigorous operations. These were prosecuted with 
skill and energy. The Indians, led on by the daring 
Tecumseh, fought with uncommon bravery, and con- 
tributed largely to swell the list of our killed and 
wounded. It is said, that the sagacious leader of the 
Indian forces did not enter upon this siege with any 
strong hopes of ultimate success ; but having embarked 
in it, he stood manfully in the post of danger, and tool^ 
an active, if not a leading part, in planning and execu- 
ting the various movements which were made against 
the fort. The spirit with which these were prosecuted 
may be in part inferred from the fact, that during the 
first five days of the siege, the enemy fired upon the 
fort with their cannon, fifteen hundred times,* many of 
their balls and bombs being red-hot, and directed spe- 

* Brown's History of the Late War. 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 179 

daily at the two block houses containing the ammuni- 
tion. These shots made no decided impression upon 
the picketing of the fort, but killed or wounded about 
eighty of the garrison. 

Il has been already stated that the distinguished lea- 
der of the Indians, in this assault upon camp Meigs, 
entered upon it with no sanguine hopes of success. His 
associate, general Proctor, however, is said to have en- 
tertained a diflerent opinion, and flattered himself and 
his troops with the prospect of splendid success and rich 
rewards. In case of the reduction of the fort and the 
icapture of its garrison, the British general intended to 
lassign the Michigan territory to the Prophet and his fol- 
lowers, as a compensation for their services; and general 
Harrison was to have been delivered into the hands of 
Tecumseh,to be disposed of at the pleasure of that chief.* 
1 One of the public journals of the dayt states that this 
proposition originated with Proctor, and was held out 
las an inducement to Tecumseh, to join in the siege. 
I General Harrison subsequently understood, that in case 
ihe had fallen into Proctor's hands, he was to have been 
jdelivered to Tecumseh, to be treated as that warrior 
Imight think proper : and in a note to Dawson's Histori- 
cal Narrative, the author of that work says, " There is 
no doubt that when Proctor made the arrangement for 
the attack on fort Meigs with Tecumseh, the latter in- 
sisted and the former agreed, that general Harrison and 
all who fought at Tippecanoe, should be given up to 
the Indians to be burned. Major Ball of the dragoons 
ascertained this fact from prisoners, deserters and In- 
dians, all of whom agreed to its truth." Whatever 
may have been the actual agreement between Proctor 
and Tecumseh in regard to general Harrison and those 
who fought with him at Tippecanoe, it is hardly credi- 
ble that this chief had any intention of participating in 
an outrage of this kind, upon the prisoners. Tecumseh 
may possibly have made such an arrangement with 
Proctor, and announced it to the Indians, for the pur- 
pose of exciting them to activity and perseverance, in 
icarrying on the siege ; but that this chief seriously med- 
jitated any such outrage, either against general Harrison 

I • M'Artee. t The Chillicothe Fredoniaii. 



180 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

or his associates, is not to be credited but on the bej 
authority. It will be recollected that Tecumseh, whe 
but a youth, succeeded by his personal influence, i 
putting an end to the custom of burning prisoners, the: 
common among a branch of the Shawanoes. In 181( 
at a conference with general Harrison, in Vincennef 
he made an agreement that prisoners and women aiK 
children, in the event of hostilities between the white 
and the Indians, should be protected ; and there is n( 
evidence that this compact was ever violated by him | 
or indeed, that through the whole course of his eventj 
ful life, he ever committed violence upon a prisoner, o]| 
suffered others to do so without promptly interfering foil 
the captive. To suppose, then, that he really intended! 
to permit general Harrison, or those who fought with' 
him on the Wabash, to be burned, would have been at 
variance with the whole tenor of his life ; and particu-i 
larly with his manly and magnanimous conduct at thel 
close of the assault upon fort Meigs. j 

The prisoners captured on the fifth, were taken| 
down to Proctor's head-quarters and confined in fort' 
Miami, where the Indians were permitted to amuse 
themselves by firing at the crowd, or at any particular! 
individual. Those whose taste led them to inflict a 
more cruel and savage death, led their victims to the 
gateway, where, under the eye of general Proctor and 
his oflicers, they were coolly tomahawked and scalped. 
Upwards of twenty prisoners were thus, in the course 
of two hours, massacred in cold blood, by those to 
whom they had voluntarily surrendered. At the same 
time, the chiefs of the diflerent tribes were holding a 
council to determine the fate of the remaining captives, 
when Tecumseh and colonel EUiott came down from 
the batteries to the scene of carnage. 

A detailed account of the noble conduct of the for- 
mer in regard to these captives is contained in the follow* 
ing extract from a letter,'^ upon the accuracy of which 
reliance may be placed. The writer, after contrasting 
the brave and humane Tecumseh with the cruel and 
reckless Proctor, says : 

• This letter is from Mr. Wm. G. Ewing, formerly of Piqua, O., and is ad- 
dressed, under date of May 2d, 1818, to John H. James, Esq. now of Urbana. 



LIFK OF TECT-MSKH. 181 

"The most unfortunate event of that contest, I pre- 
Lime you will admit to have been the defeat of colonel 
)udle^^ I will give you a statement made to nie by a 
Iritish officer who was present. He states, that when 
olonel Dudley landed his troops, Tecumseli, the brave 
'Ut unfortunate commander, was on the south side of 
le river, annoying the American garrison with his 
Indians; and that Proctor, with a part of his troops 
',nd a few Indians^ remained on tlie opposite side at 
j.ie batteries. Dudley attacked him, and pursued him 
jwo miles. During this time, Harrison had sent out a 
letachment to engage Tecumseh ; and that the contest 
|vith him continued a considerable length of time, be- 
jore he was informed of what was doing on the oppo- 
lite side. He inmiediately retreated, swam over the 
ivrr and fell in the rear of Dudley, and attacked him 
vitli great fury. Being thus surrounded and their 
ommander killed, the troops marched up to the British 
ine and surrendered. Shortly afterwards, commenced 
he scene of horrors which I dare say is yet fresh in 
\rouv memory; but I shall recall it to your recollection 
|br reasons I will liereafter state. They (the American 
jroops) were huddled together in an old British garri- 
ton, with the Indians around them, selecting such as" 
he'll' fancy dictated, to glut their savage thirst for mur- 
lor. And although they had surrendered themselves 
prisoners of war, yet, in violation of the customs of 
.vnr, the inhuman Proctor did not yield them the least 
)rotection, nor attempt to screen t*hem from the toma- 
lawk of the Indians. Whilst this blood-thirsty car- 
inqe was raging, a thundering voice was heard in the 
.car, in the Indian tongue, when, turning round, he 
■;aw Tecumseh coming with all the rapidity his horse 
20uld carry him, until he drew near to where two In- 
dians had an American, and were in the act of killing 
aim. He sprang from his horse, caught one by the 
throat and the other by the breast, and threw them to 
the ground ; drawing his tomahawk and scalping knife, 
he ran in between the Americans and Indians, brand- 
'ishing them with the fury of a mad man, and daring 
■any one of the hundreds that surrounded him, to at- 
tempt to murder another American. They all oppear- 
Q 



182 LIFE UF TECUMSEH. 

ed confounded, and nnmedialely desisted. His mil 
appeared rent with passion, and he exclaimed almc 
with tears in his eyes, '« Oh ! what will become of irl, 
Indians.^' He then demanded in an authoritative ton 
where Proctor was ; but casting his eye upon him at 
small distance, sternly enquired why he had not put 
stop to the inhuman massacre. "Sir,'' said Procto 
" your Indians cannot be commanded." " Begone ! 
retorted Tecumseh, with the greatest disdain, < you ax 
unlit to command ; go and put on petticoats.' " 

This was not the only occasion on which Tecumse' 
openly manifested the contempt which he felt for tb 
character and conduct of general Proctor. Amonj 
other instances, it is stated by an officer of the Unite( 
States' army, in a letter, under date of 28th September 
1813,* that in a conversation between these two com 
manders of the allied British army, Tecumseh said tc 
Proctor, " I conquer to save, and you to murder ;" — arl 
expression founded in truth, and worthy of the mag-| 
nanimous hero from whose lips it fell. 

There is another incident connected with the defeati 
of Dudley, which justice to the character of Tecumseh' 
requires should be recorded. Shortly after he had pull 
a stop to the horrid massacre of the prisoners, his! 
attention was called to a small group of Indians occu-i 
pied in looking at some object in their midst. Colonel I 
Elliott observed to him, " Yonder are four of your na- 
tion who have been taken prisoners ; you may take 
charge of them, and dispose of them as you think pro 
per." Tecumseh walked up to the crowd, where he 
found four Shawanoes, two brothers by the name of 
Perry, Big Jim, and the Soldier. " Friends," said he, 
<^ colonel Elliott has placed you under my charge, and 
I will send you back to your nation with a talk to our 
people." He accordingly took them on with the army 
as far as the river Raisin, from which point their return 
home would be less dangerous, and then appointed two 
of his followers to accompany them, with some friend- 
ly messages to the chiefs of the Shawanoe nation. 
They were thus discharged under their parole, not to 
fight against the British during the war. 

• Niles' Register 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 183 



CHAPTER XIII. 

fecumseh present at the second attack on fort Meigs — his stratagem of a 
sham-battle to draw out general Clay — is posted in the Black swamp 
with two thousand warriors at the time of the attack on fort Stephenson 
— from thence passes by land to Maiden — compels general Proctor to 
release an American prisoner — threatens to desert the British cause — 
urges an attack upon the American fleet — opposes Proctor's retreat from 

• Maiden — delivers a speech to him on that occasion. 

I After abandoning the siege of fort Meigs, general 
jProctor and Tecumseh returned to Maiden, where the 
.Canadian militia were disbanded, and the Indians, who 
:iad not already left the army, for their respective vil- 
lages, were stationed at different cantonments. The 
Chippewas preferred going home; the Potawatamies 
iwere placed six miles up the river Rouge ; the Miamis 
jmd Wyandots at Brownstown and up the Detroit river, 
lis far as Maguaga. They were successively employ- 
;3d by the British commander as scouts, a party being 
sent regularly, once a week, to reconnoiter fort Meigs, 
and other points in that vicinity. They planted no 
3orn and hunted but little, being regularly supplied 
with provisions from Detroit and Maiden. 
I Early in July, the allies of the British again made 
Itheir appearance in the vicinity of fort Meigs. Dick- 
j?on, an influential Scotch trader among the Indians, 
having returned from the north-west with a large body 
of savages, general Proctor was urged to renew the at- 
.^ack on the fort, and it was accordingly done. 

Late on the evening of the 20th of July, the garrison 
discovered the boats of the British army ascending the 
river. On the following morning general Clay, now 
m command of this post, despatched a picket guard of 
ten men to a point three hundred yards below the fort, 
where it was surprised by the Indians, and seven of the 
party either killed or captured. The combined army 
of British and Indians, were soon afterwards encamped 
on the north side of the river, below the old British 
(bit Miami. For a short time, the Indians took a po- 
sition in the woods, in the rear of the fort, from which 
they occasionally fired upon the garrison, but without 



184 LIFE OF tecumsp:h. 

doing any injury. lu the night, captain Wilham Oh- 
ver, accompanied by captain M'Cune, was sent ex- 
press to general Harrison, then at Lower Sandusky, 
with information that fort Meigs was again invested; 
and, that the united force of the enemy did not fall far 
short of five thousand men. The general directed cap- 
tain M'Cune to return to the fort, with information lo 
the commander, that so soon as the necessary troops 
could be assembled, he would march to his relief. The 
general doubted, however, whether any serious attack 
was meditated against the place. He believed, and 
the result showed the accuracy of his judgment, that 
the enemy was making a feint at the Rapids, to call 
his attention in that direction, while Lower Sandusky 
or Cleveland, would be the real point of assault. On 
the 23d Tecumseh, with about eight hundred Indians, 
passed up the river, with the intention, as general Clay 
supposed, of attacking fort Winchester : this movement, 
as was subsequently ascertained, being also intended 
to deceive the commander of the fort. On the 25th the 
enemy removed to the south side of the river, and en- 
camped behind a point of woods which partly conceal- 
ed them from the view of the garrison. This, taken 
in connection with other circumstances, led general 
Clay to think that an effort would be made to carry 
the post by assault. Early on the morning of the 26th 
captain M'Cune reached the fort in safety. In the af- 
ternoon of that day, the enemy practised a well devised 
stratagem for the purpose of drawing general Clay and 
his troops from their fastness. On the Sandusky road, 
just before night, a heavy firing of rifles and muskets 
was heard: the Indian yell broke upon the ear, and 
the savages were seen attacking with great impetuosity 
a column of men, who were soon thrown into confn- 
sion; they, however, rallied, and in turn the Indians 
gave way. The idea flcAV through the fort that gene 
ral Harrison was approaching with a body of reinforce- 
ments ; and the troops under general Clay seized their 
arms, and with nearly all the ofRcers in the garrison, 
demanded to be led to the support of their friends. 
General Clay was unable to explain the firing, but 
wisely concluded, from the information received in the 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 185 

morning by captain M'Cune, that there could be no 
reinforcements in the neighborhood of the fort. lie 
had the prudent firmness to resist the earnest importu- 
nity of his officers and men, to be led to the scene of 
action. The enemy finding that the garrison could not 
be drawn out, and a heavy shower of rain beginning to 
fall, terminated their sham-battle. It was subsequently 
ascertained that this was a stratagem, devised by Te- 
cumseh, for the purpose of decoying out a part of the 
force under general Clay, which was to have been at- 
tacked and cut off by the Indians; while the British 
troops were to carry the fort by storm. But for the 
opportune arrival of the express in the morning of this 
day, and the cool judgment of the commander, there is 
great reason to suppose that this admirably planned 
manoeuvre would have succeeded; which must have 
resulted in the total destruction of the garrison, the 
combined force of the enemy, then investing fort Meigs, 
being about five thousand in number, while the troops 
under general Clay were but a few hundred strong. 
The enemy remained around the fort but one day after 
the failure of this ingenious stratagem, and on the 2Sth 
embarked with their stores, and proceeded down the 
lake. 

As had been anticipated by general Harrison, imme- 
diately after the siege was raised, the British troops 
sailed round into Sandusky bay, while a portica of the 
Indians marched across the land, to aid in the medi- 
tated attack upon fort Stephenson, at lower Sandusky. 
Tecumseh, in the mean time, with about two thousand 
warriors, took a position in the great swamp, between 
that point and fort Meigs, ready to encounter any rein- 
forcement that might have been started to the relief of 
general Clay, to fall upon the camp at Seneca, or upon 
Upper Sandusky, according to circumstances. The 
gallant defence of fort Stephenson by captain Croghan, 
put a sudden stop to the offensive operations of the 
army under Proctor and Tecumseh ; and very shortly 
afterwards transferred the scene of action to a new 
theatre on the Canada shore, where these commanders 
were, in turn, thrown upon the defensive. 

Immediately after the signal defeat of general Proc- 
q2 



186 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

tor at fort Stephenson, he returned with the British 
troops to Maiden hy water, while Tecnmseh and his 
followers passed over land round the head of lake Erie 
and joined him at that point. At this time, an incident 
occurred which illustrates the character of Tecumseh, 
while it shows the contumely with which he was ac- 
customed to treat general Proctor, who did not dare to 
disobey him. A citizen of the IJnited States, captain 
Le Croix, had fallen into the hands of Proctor, and 
was secreted on board one of the British vessels, until 
he could be sent down to Montreal. Tecumseh had a 
particular regard for captain Le Croix, and suspected 
that he had been captured. He called upon general 
Proctor, and in a peremptory manner demanded if he 
knew any thing of his friend. He even ordered the 
British general to tell him the truth, adding, " If I ever 
detect you in a falsehood, I, with my Indians, will im- 
mediately abandon you." The general was obliged to 
acknowledge that Le Croix was in confinement. Te- 
cumseh, in a very imperious tone, insisted upon his 
immediate release. General Proctor wrote a line stat- 
ing, that the "king of the woods" desired the release 
of captain Le Croix, and that he must be set at liberty ; 
which was done without delay."* 

Discouraged by the want of success, and having lost 
all confidence in general Proctor, Tecumseh now se- 
riously,, meditated a withdrawal from the contest. He 
assembled the Shawanoes, Wyandots and Ottawas, who 
were under his command, and declared his intention to 
them. He told them, that at the time they took up the 
tomahawk and agreed to join their father, the king, 
they were promised plenty of white men to fight with 
them ; "but the number is not now greater," said he, 
" than at the commencement of the war ; and we are 
treated by them like the dogs of snipe hunters ; we are 
always sent ahead to start the gmne : it is better that 
we should return to our country, and let the Americans 
come on and fight the British." To this proposition 
his followers agreed ; but the Sioux and Chippewas, 
discovering his intention, went to him and insisted that 

* Alden Collection. 



LIFE OF TECU.MSEH. 187 

inasmuch as he had first united with the British, and 
had been instrumental in bringing tlieir tribes mto the 
alUance, he ought not to leave them; and through their 
intluence he was finally induced to remain."^ 

Tecumseh was on the island of Bois Blanc, in the 
Detroit river, when commodore Perry made the first 
display of his fleet before Maiden. He appeared much 
pleased at the appearance of these vessels, and assured 
the Indians by whom he was surrounded, that the Brit- 
ish fleet would soon destroy them. The Indians hast- 
ened t^ the shore to witness the contest, but the harbour 
of Maiden presented no evidence that commodore Bar 
clay intended to meet the American commander. Te 
cumseh launched his canoe, and crossed over to Maiden 
to make enquiries on the subject. He called on general 
Proctor, and adverting to the apparent unwillingness 
of commodore Barclay to attack the American fleet, he 
said " a few days since, you were boasting that you 
commanded the waters — why do you not go out and 
meet the Americans ? See yander, they are waiting for 
you, and daring you to meet them : you must and shall 
send out your fleet and fight them." Upon his return 
to the island, he stated to the Indians, with apparent 
chagrin, that " the big canoes of their great father were 
not yet ready, and that the destruction of the Ameri- 
cans must be delayed for a few days.^t 

When the battle was finally fought, it was witnessed 
by the Indians from the shore. On the day succeeding 
the engagement, general Proctor said to Tecumseh, 
" my fleet has whipped the Americans, but the vessels 
being much injured, have gone into Put-in Bay to refit, 
and will be here in a few days." This deception, how- 
ever, upon the Indians, was not of long duration. The 
sagacious eye of Tecumseh soon perceived indications 
of a retreat from Maiden, and he promptly enquired 
into the matter. General Proctor informed him that 
he was only going to send their valuable property up 
the Thames, where it would meet a reinforcement, 
and be safe. Tecumseh, however, was not to be de- 
ceived by this shallow device ; and remonstrated most 

^ Anthony Shane. f Ibid. 



188 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

urgently against a retreat. He iinally demanded, in 
the name of all the Indians under his command, to be 
heard by the general, and, on the ISth of September, 
delivered to him, as the representative of their great 
father, the king, the following speech : 

" Father, listen to your children! you have them now i 
all before you. 

"The war before this, our British father gave the 
hatchet to his red children, when our old chiefs were 
alive. They are now dead. In that war our father was 
thrown on his back by the Americans; and oui^father 
took them by the hand without our knowledge ; and we 
are afraid that our father will do so again at this time. 

" Summer before last, when I came forward with my 
red brethren and was ready to take up the hatchet in 
favor of our British father, we were told not to be in 
a hurry, that he had not yet determined to fight the 
Americans. 

"Listen! when war was declared, our father stood 
up and gave us the {omahawk, and told us that he was 
then ready to strike the Americans; that he. wanted 
our assistance, and that he would certainly get our lands 
back, which the Americans had taken from us. 

" Listen ! you told us at that time, to bring forward 
our families to this place, and we did so; and you 
promised to take care of them, and they should want 
for nothing, while the men would go and fight the 
enemy ; that we need not trouble ourselves about the 
enemy's garrisons; that we knew nothing about them, 
and that our father would attend to that part of the 
business. You also told your red children that you 
would take good care of your garrison here, which 
made our hearts glad. 

" Listen ! when we were last at the Rapids, it is true 
we gave you little assistance. It is hard to fight people 
who live like ground-hogs. 

" Father, listen ! our fleet has gone out ; we know 
they have fought ; we have heard the great guns ; but 
we know nothing of what has happened to our father 
with one arm.* Our ships have gone one way, and 

• Commodore Barclay, who had lost an arm in some previous battle. 



LIFE OF TECUMSEll. 18J> 

we are much astonished to see our father tying up eve- 
ry thing and preparing to run away the other, without 
letting his red children know what his intentions are. 
You always told us to remain here and taUe care of 
' our lands ; it made our liearts glad to hear that was 
I your wish. Our great father, the king, is the head, 
: and you represent him. You always told us you would 
•never draw your foot oft' British ground; but now, 
father, we see that you are drawing back, and we are 
. sorry to see our father doing so without seeing the 
1 enemy. We must compare our father's conduct to a 
f fat dog, that carries his tail on its back, but when af- 
! frighted, drops it between its legs and runs otf. 

" Father, listen ! the Americans have not yet defeat- 
ed us by land ; neither are we sure that they have done 
i so by water ; loe, therefore^ wish to remain here and 
fi^ht our enemy ^ should they make their appearance. 
If they defeat us, we will then retreat with our father. 

'• At the battle of the Rapids, last war, the Americans 
certainly defeated us; and when we returned to our 
father's fort at that place, the gates were shut against 
us. We were afraid that it would now be the case ; 
but instead of that, we now sec our British father pre- 
paring to march out of his garrison. 

" Father, you have got the arms and ammunition 
I which our great father sent for his red children. If you 
have an idea of going away, give them to us, and you 
may go and welcome, for us. Our lives are in the 
hands of the Great Spirit. We are determined to de- 
fend our lands, and if it be his will, we wish to leave 
our bones upon them." ^ 

General Proctor, in disregarding the advice of Te- 
cumseh, lost his only opportunity of making an eftec- 
tive resistance to the American army. Had the troops 
under general Harrison been attacked by the British 
and Indians at the moment of their landing on the 
Canada shore, the result might have been far different 
from that which was shortly afterwards witnessed on 
the banks of the Thames. Of the authenticity of this 
able speech, there is no doubt. It has been the cause 
of some surprise that it should have been preserved by 
general Proctor, and translated into English, especially 



190 LIFE OP TECUMSEH. j 

as it speaks of the commander of the allied army in| 
terms the most disrespectfii!. We are enabled to state, 
on the authority of John Chambers, Esq. of Washing- 
ton, Kentucky, who was one of the aids of genera] 
Harrison in tiie campaign of 1813, that tiie speech as 
given above, is truly translated ; and was actually de- 
delivered to general Proctor under the circumstances 
above related. When the battle of the Thames had 
been fought, the British commander sought safety in 
flight. He was pursued by colonels Wood, Chambers, 
and Todd, and three or four privates. He escaped, 
but his baggage was captured. Colonel Chambers was 
present when his port-folio was opened, and among 
the papers, a translation of this speech was found. In 
remarking upon the fact subsequently, to some of the 
British officers, they stated to colonel Chambers that 
the speech was undoubtedly genuine ; and that general 
Proctor had ordered it to be translated and exhibited to 
his officers, for the purpose of showing them the inso- 
lence with which he was treated by Tecumseh, and 
the necessity he was under of submitting to every spe- 
cies of indignity from him, to prevent that chief from 
withdrawing his forces from the contest or turning his 
army against the British troops. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



Retreat of the combined British and Indian army to the river Thames — 
Kkirmish at Chatham with tlie troops under general Harrison — Tecum 
seh slightly wounded in the arm — battle on the Thames on ths 5lh of 
October — Tecumseh's death. 

Shortly after the delivery of the speech quoted in 
the foregoing chapter, a considerable body of Indians 
abandoned general Proctor, and crossed the strait to 
the American shore. Tecumseh himself again mani- 
fested a disposition to take his final leave of the British 
service. Embittered by the perfidy of Proctor, his men 
suffering from want of clothes and provisions, with the 
prospect .Qf a disgraceful flight b^iora tlienia he was 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 191 

;trongly inclined to withdraw with his followers; and 
leave the American general to chastise in a summary 
Inanner those who had so repeatedly deceived him 
Imd his Indian followers. The Sioux and Chippewas, 
lowever, again objected to this course. They could 
lot, they said, withdraw, and there was no other leader 
but Tecumseh, in whom they placed confidence : they 
Insisted that he was the person who had originally in- 
duced them to join the British, and that he ought not 
,0 desert them in the present extremity. Tecumseh, in 
1-eply to this remonstrance emarked, that the battle- 
iield had no terrors for him ; he feared not death, and 
If they insisted upon it, he would remain with them. 
j General Proctor now proposed to the Indians to re- 
lnove their women and children to McGee's, opposite 
I he river Rouge, where they would be furnished with 
iheir winter's clothing and the necessary supplies of 
food. To this proposition, Tecumseh yielded a reluc- 
!ant assent ; doubting, as he did, the truth of the state- 
juent. When they were about to start, he observed to 
70ung Jim Blue-Jacket, " we are now going to follow 
:he British, and I feel well assured, that we shall nev- 
3r return." When they arrived at McGee's, Tecumseh 
ibund that there were no stores provided for them, as 
nad been represented. Proctor made excuses; and 
jigain pledged himself to the Indians, that if they would 
^o with him to the Thames, they would there find an 
ibundance of every thing needful to supply their 
^vants ; besides a reinforcement of British troops, and a 
brt ready for their reception.* 

The retreat was continued towards the Thames. On 
he second of October, when the army had reached 
Dalson's farm, Proctor and Tecumseh, attended by a 
>mall guard, returned to examine the ground at a place 
called Chatham, where a deep, unfordable creek falls 
nto the Thames. They were riding together in a gig, 
md after making the necessary examination, the ground 
vvas approved of; and general Proctor remarked, upon 
liat spot they would either defeat general Harrison or 
;here lay their bones. With this determination Tecum- 

* Anthony Shane. 



192 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

seh was highly pleased, and said, " it was a good place 
and when he should look at the two streams, the^ 
would remind him of the Wabash and the Tippecanoe.' 
Perhaps no better position could have been chosen fo 
nieethig the American army than this place presented 
The allied force of British and Indians, had they mad( 
a stand upon it, would have been protected in front b] 
a deep unfordalDle stream, while their right flank wouk 
have been covered by the Thames, and their left by i 
swamp. But general Proctor changed his mind; am 
leaving Tecumseh with a body of Indians to defeni 
the passage of the stream, moved forward with th( 
main army. Tecumseh made a prompt and judiciou 
arrangement of his forces : but it is said that his Indi 
ans, in the skirmish which ensued, did not sustain thei 
previous reputation as warriors. It is probable, how 
ever, that their leader did not intend to make any deci 
ded resistance to the American troops at this point, no 
being Avilling that general Proctor and his army shouh 
escape a meeting with the enemy. In this action Te 
cumseh was slightly wounded in the arm by a balJ 
General Harrison, in his official report of this affah 
says : 

"Below a place called Chatham, and four mile 
above Dalson's, is the third unfordable branch of th< 
Thames : the bridge over its mouth had been taken u] 
by the Indians, as well as that at McGregor's mills 
one mile above — several hundred of the Indians re 
mained to dispute our passage, and upon the arrival o: 
the advanced guard, commenced a heavy fire from th 
opposite bank of the creek, as well as that of the rivei 
Believing that the whole force of the enemy was there 
I halted the army, formed in order of battle, and brough 
up our two six pounders, to cover the party that wer 
ordered to repair the bridge. A few shot from thes 
pieces soon drove off the Indians, and enabled us i] 
two hours to repair the bridge and cross the troops 
Colonel Johnson's mounted regiment being upon th( 
right of the army, had seized the remains of the bridgi 
at the mills, under a heavy fire from the Indians 
Our loss upon this occasion was two killed, and threi 
or four wounded ; that of the enemy was ascertainec 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 193 

j to be considerably greater. A house near the bridge, 
I containing a very considerable number of muskets, had 
j been set on fire ; but it was extinguished by our troops 
I and the arms saved." 

Tecumseh and his party overtook the main army 
near the Moravian towns, situated on tlie north side of 
the Thames. Here he resolved that he would retreat 
no further ; and the ground being favorable for form- 
ing the line of battle, he communicated his determina- 
tion to general Proctor, and compelled him, as there is 
every reason for believing, to put an end to his retreat, 
and prepare for meeting the pursuing army. After the 
Indians were posted hi the swamp, in the position oc- 
cupied by them during the battle, Tecumseh remarked 
to the chiefs by whom he was surrounded, '^brother 
warriors! we are now about to enter into an engage- 
ment from which I shall never come out — my body 
will remain on the field of battle.'' He then unbuck- 
led his sword, and placing it in the hands of one of 
them, said, " when my son becomes a noted warrior, 
and able to wield a sword, give this to him." He then 
laid aside his British military dress, and took his place 
in the line, clothed only in the ordinary deer-skin hunt- 
ing shirt.* 

The position selected by the enemy was eminently 
judicious. The British troops, amounting to eight or 
nine hundred, were posted with their left upon the riv- 
er, which was unfordable at that point ; their right 
extended to and across a swamp, and united them 
with the Indians, under Tecumseh, amounting to near 
eighteen hundred. The British artillery was placed in 
the road along the margin of the river, near to the left 
of their line. At from two to three hundred yards from 
the river, a swamp extends nearly parallel to it, the in- 
termediate ground being dry. This position of the 
enemy, with his flank protected on the left by the river 
and on the right by the swamp, filled with Indians, 
being such as to prevent the wings from being turned, 
general Harrison made arrangements to concentrate his 
forces against the British line. The first division, under 

* Anthony Shane, and colonel Baubee of the British army. 

R 



194 LIFE OF TECUMSnn. 

major general Henry, was formed in three lines at one 
hundred yards from each other ; the front hue consist- 
ing of Trotter's brigade, the second of Chiles', and the 
reserve of King's brigade. These lines were in front 
of, and parallel to, the British troops. The second di 
vision, under major general Desha, composed of Allen'iS 
and Caldwell's brigades, was formed en potence, or at 
right angles to the tirst division. Governor Shelby, as 
senior major general of the Kentucky troops, was post 
ed at this crotchet, formed between the first and second 
divisions. Colonel Simrall's regiment of light infantry 
was formed in reserve, obliquely to the first division, 
and covering the rear of the front division ; and, after 
much reflection as to the disposition to be made of colo- 
nel Johnson's mounted troops, they were directed, as 
soon as the front line advanced, to take ground to the 
left, and forming upon that flank, to endeavor to turn 
the right of the Indians. A detachment of regular 
troops, of the 26th United States infantry, under colo- 
nel Paul, occupied the space between the road and the 
river, for the purpose of seizing the enemy's artillery ; 
and, simultaneously with this movement, forty friendly 
Indians were to pass under the bank of the stream to 
the rear of the British line, and by their fire and Avar- 
cry, induce the enezuy to think their own Indians were 
turning against them. At the same time, colonel Wood 
had been instructed to make preparations for using the 
enemy's artilleiy, and to rake their own line by a flank 
fire. By refusing the left or second division, the Indi- 
ans were kept in the air, that is, in a position in which 
they would be useless. It will be seen, as the com- 
mander anticipated, that they waited in their position 
the advance of the second division, while the British 
M{ was contending with the American right. John 
son's corps consisted of nine hundred men, and the 
live brigades under governor Shelby amounted to neai 
eighteen hundred, in all, not exceeding two thousand 
seven hundred men. 

In the midst of these arrangements, and just as the 
order was about to be given to the front line to ad- 
v:uice, at the head of which general Harrison had pla 
ced himself with his slafl", colonel Wood approachec 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 195 

jhirn with intelligence, that having reconnoitered the 
j enemy, he had ascertained the singular fact, that the 
j British lines, instead of the usual close order, Avere 
I drawn up at open order. This fact at once induced 
I general Harrison to adopt the novel expedient of charg- 
ing the British lines with Johnson's mounted regiment. 
'' I was within a few feet of him," says the gallant col- 
onel John O'Fallon, " when the report of colonel Wood 
was made, and he instantly remarked, that he would 
make a novel movement by ordering colonel Johnson's 
mounted regiment to charge the British line of regulars, 
which, thus drawn up, contrary to the habits and usa- 
ges of that description of troops, always accustomed to 
the touch, could be easily penetrated and thrown into 
confusion, by a spirited charge of colonel Johnson's 
regiment." This determination was presently made 
known to the colonel, who was directed to draw up 
his regiment in close column, with its right fifty yards 
from the road — that it might be partially protected by 
the trees from the artillery — its left upon the swamp, 
and to charge at full speed upon the enemy. 

At this juncture, general Harrison, with his aids-de- 
camp, attended likewise by general Cass and commo- 
dore Perry, advanced from the right of the front line of 
infantry, to the right of the front column of mounted 
troops, led by colonel James Johnson. The general, 
personally, gave the direction for the charge to be 
made. " When the right battalion of the mounted men 
received the first fire of the British, the horses in the front 
column recoiled; another fire was given by the enemy, 
but our column getting in motion, broke through the 
enemy with irresistible force. In one minute the con- 
test was over. The British officers seeing no prospect 
of reducing their disordered ranks to order, and seeing 
the advance of the infantry, and our mounted men 
wheeling upon them and pouring in a destructive fire, 
immediately surrendered."* 

Colonel Richard M. Johnson, by the extension of his 
line, was brought in contact with the Indians, upon 
whom he gallantly charged, but was unfortunately se- 

• OfRcial Despatch. 



196 LIFE OF TECUMbijlH. 

verely wounded by the first fire of the enemy, and \va: 
immediately taken ofi" the field, not, however, it ha: 
been stated, until he had despatched an Indian by c 
pistol shot. The fire of the Indians having made some' 
impression upon Johnson's men, and upon the left of 
Trotter's brigade, general Harrison despatched an order 
to governor Shelby to bring up Simrall's regiment to 
reinforce the point pressed by the Indians; and then 
the general passed to the left, to superintend the opera- 
tions in that quarter. The governor, however, had 
anticipated the wishes of his commander, being in the 
act of leading up the regiment, when the order reached 
him. He and the general met near the crochet, where 
after a severe contest of several minutes, the battle 
finally ceased. The particulars of the charge made by 
colonel Johnson on the Indians, are thus given by an 
intelligent officer* of his corps. In a letter to the late 
governor Wickliffe of Kentucky, under date of Frank- 
fort, September 7, 1840, he says: 

"I was at the head or right of my company, on 
horseback, waiting orders, at about fifty or sixty yards 
from the line of the enemy. Colonel Johnson rode up 
and explained to me the mode of attack, and said in 
substance, ^'^ captain Davidson, I am directed by general 
Harrison to charge and break through the Indian line, 
and form in the rear. My brother James will charge 
in like manner through the British line at the same 
time. The sound of the trumpet will be the signal for 
the charge." In a few minutes the trumpet sounded, 
and the word "charge" was given by colonel Johnson. 
The colonel charged within a few paces of me. We 
struck the Indian line obliquely, and when we approach- 
ed within ten or fifteen yards of their line, the Indians 
poured in a heavy fire upon us, killing ten or fifteen of 
our men and several horses, and wounded colonel John- 
son very severely. He immediately retired. Doctor 
Theobald, of Lexington, (I think) aided him off"." 

The loss of the Americans in this battle was about 
twenty killed and between thirty and forty wounded. 
The British had eighteen killed and twenty-six wound- 

* Captain James Davidson, of Kentucky. — See Cincinnati Republican. 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 19'7 

ed. The Indians left on the ground between fifty and 
sixty killed ; and, estimating the usual proportion for 
the wounded, it was probably more than double that 
number. 

The British official account of this action is not be- 
fore us. In a general order under date of JVIontreal, 
November 21, 1813, the adjutant general of the Eng- 
lish forces, bears testimony to the good conduct of tbe 
Indian warriors, who gallantly maintained the conflict 
under the brave chief Tecumseh. This tribute to the 
Indians and their leader is well merited. Had general 
Proctor and his troops fought with the same valor that 
marked the conduct of Tecumseh and his men, the re- 
sults of the day would have been far more creditable 
to the British arms. It has already been stated that 
Tecumseh entered this battle with a strong conviction 
on his mind that he should not survive it. Further 
flight he deemed disgraceful, while the hope of victory 
in the impending action, was feeble and distant. He, 
however, heroically resolved to achieve the latter or 
die in the effort. With this determination, he took his 
stand among his followers, raised the war-cry and bold- 
ly met the enemy. From the commencement of the 
attack on the Indian line, his voice was distinctly heard 
by his followers, animating them to deeds worthy of 
the race to which they belonged. When that well 
known voice was heard no longer above the din of 
arms, the battle ceased. The British troops having 
already surrendered, and the gallant leader of the In- 
dians having fallen, they gave up the contest and fled. 
A short distance from where Tecumseh fell, the body 
of his friend and brother-in-law, W^asegoboah, was 
found. They had often fought side by side, and now, 
in front of their men, bravely battling the enemy, they 
side by side closed their mortal career.* 

James, a British historian,! in his account of the bat- 
tle of the Thames, makes the following remarks upon 
the character and personal appearance of Tecumseh. 

" Thus fell the Indian warrior Tecumseh, in the 44th 
year of his age. He was of the Shawanoe tribe, five 

* Anthony Shane. -f Military Occurrences of the Late War. 

R 2 



108 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

feet ten inches high, and with more than the usual 
stoutness, possessed all the agihty and perseverance of 
the Indian character. His carriage was dignified, his 
eye penetrating, his countenance, which even in death, 
betrayed the indications of a lofty spirit, rather of the 
sterner cast. Had he not possessed a certain austerity 
of manners, he could never have controlled the way- 
ward passions of those who followed him to battle. 
He was of a silent habit ; but when his eloquence be- 
came roused into action by the reiterated encroach- 
ments of the Americans, his strong intellect could sup- 
ply him with a flow of oratory that enabled him, as he 
governed in the field, so to prescribe in the council. 
Those who consider that in all territorial questions, the 
ablest diplomatists of the United States are sent to 
negociate with the Indians, will readily appreciate the 
loss sustained by the latter in the death of their cham- 
pion. ^ * * * Such a man was the unlettered 
savage, Tecumseh, and such a man have the Indians 
lost forever. He has left a son, who, when his father 
fell, was about seventeen years old, and fought by his 
side. The prince regent, in 1814, out of respect to the 
memory of the old, sent out as a present to the young, 
Tecumseh, a handsome sword. Unfortunately, how- 
ever, for the Indian cause and country, faint are the 
prospects that Tecumseh the son, will ever equal, in 
wisdom or prowess, Tecumseh the father. ^^ 

Mr. James (p. 295,) asserts, that Tecumseh was not 
only scalped, but that his body was actually flayed, and 
the skin converted into razor-straps by the Kentuckians. 
We fear there is too much truth in this statement. It 
is confirmed by the testimony of several American 
officers and privates, who were in the battle of the 
Thames. It is painful to make an admission of this 
kind, but truth forbids the suppression of a fact, when 
fairly established, however revolting to the feelings of 
humanity, or degrading to a people. That there Avas 
any general participation of our troops in this inhuman 
and revolting deed, is not for a moment to be suppos- 
ed. That it was the act of a few vulgar and brutish 
individuals, is, we think, just as certain, as that the 
great mass of the army were shocked at its perpetra- 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. I0fl| 

jtion. It is to be regretted that the names of the per- 
jsons who committed this outrage have not been pre- 
iserved, that their conduct on this occasion might have 
jbeen held up to universal condemnation. 



CHAPTER XV. 



Critical exaniiration of the question " who killed Tecvunseh ?" — colonel 
Iv. M. Johiisoa's claim consiJerecL 

Tecumseh was a determined and subtle enemy of 
the United States, and during the pahny days of his 
bold career, Avielded an influence over tlie north-west- 
ern Indians wliich belonged to no other chief. His 
death was consequently an important circumstance in 
relation to the peace and safety of the frontiers. But 
whether he fell by a pistol shot from a field officer, or 
a rifle ball from a private soldier, howei^er interesting 
as a matter of personal history, is certainly not one of 
national importance. Nevertheless, the question by 
whose hands he fell, has engaged public attention to 
some considerable extent ever since the memorable 
battle of the Thames. Its discussion has not been con- 
fined to the immediate friends of the several aspirants 
for the honor of having slain this distinguished war- 
rior ; it has enlivened the political canvass, and the 
halls of legislation; occupied the columns of journals 
and magazines, and filled no inconsiderable space on 
the pages of American and British histories. Under 
such circumstances, and as directly connected with the 
present biography, a fair presentation of all the testi- 
mony'- bearing on the case will now be attempted. It 
may at least gratify the public curiosity, if it do not 
definitively settle the long pending question in relation 
to the actual slayer of TecuTnseh. 

M'Aftee, in his History of the Late War, says, Te- 
cumseh" was found among the dead, at the point where 
colonel Johnson had charged upon the enemy, in per- 
son, and it is generally believed, that this celebrated 



200 LIFE OF 'It:CUMSEH. 

chief fell by the hand of the colonel. It is certain that 
the latter killed the Indian with his pistol, who shot 
him through his hand, at the very spot where Tecum-j 
seh lay ; but another dead body lay at the same place, 
and Mr. King, a soldier in captain Davidson's compa- 
ny, had the honor of killing one of them." 

Brown, in his history of the same war, says, that 
"colonel Johnson, after receiving four wounds, per- 
ceived the daring Tecumseh commanding and attempt- 
ing to rally his savage force ; when he instantly put his 
horse towards him, and was shot by Tecumseh in the 
hand, as he approached him. Tecumseh advanced 
with a drawn weapon, a sword or tomahawk, at which 
instant the colonel, having reserved his fire, shot his 
ferocious antagonist dead at his feet ; and that too, at 
the moment he was almost fainting with the loss of 
blood and the anguish of five wounds." 

The statement of Shawbeneh, a Potawatamie chief, 
lately published in the " Chicago Democrat," goes to 
prove that Tecumseh was wounded in the neck ; and 
telling his warriors that he must die, rushed forward to 
kill colonel Johnson. Shawbeneh saw him fall, having 
been shot by the colonel, just as his arm had reached 
the necessary height to strike the fatal blow. Shaw- 
beneh says that colonel Johnson was riding a large 
white horse, with occasionally a jet black spot. He 
further states that Tecumseh's body was not mutilated 
by the American troops. 

The testimony of another PotaAvatamie chief, Cham- 
blee, as furnished us by captain Robert Anderson, of the 
U. S. army, is to this efiect : 

He saw Tecumseh engaged in a personal rencontre 
with a soldier armed with a musket; that the latter 
made a thrust at the chief, who caught the bayonet un- 
der his arm, where he held it, and was in the act of 
striking his opponent with his tomahawk, v/hen a 
horseman rode up, and shot Tecumseh dead with a 
pistol. The horseman had a red feather, (plume) in 
his hat, and was mounted on a spotted or red-roan 
horse ; he further says, that he saw the body of Tecum- 
seh a day or two after the battle, and that it was not 
mutilated. 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 201 

In a work entitled " History of the Indian Tribes of 
North America," there is the following note : 

" A Potawataniie chief was thus questioned : Were 
you at the battle of the Thames ? Yes. Did you know 
i Tecumseh ? Yes. Were you near him in the fight ? 
Yes. Did you see him fall ? Yes. Who shot him ? 
Don't know. Did you see the man that shot him? 
Yes. What sort of looking man was he ? Short, thick 
man. What color was the horse he rode ? Most white. 
How do you know this man shot Tecumseh ? I saw 
the man ride np — saw his horse get tangled in some 
bushes — when the horse was most still, I saw Tecum- 
seh level his rifle at the man and shoot — the man 
siiook on his horse — soon the horse got out of the 
bnslies, and the man spurred him up — horse came slow 
— Tecumseh right before him — man's left hand hung 
down — just as he got near, Tecumseh lifted his toma- 
hawk and was going to throw it, when the man shot 
him with a short gun (pistol) — Tecumseh fell dead and 
we all ran." 

Mr. Garrett Wall, of Kentucky, who participated in 
the battle of the Thames, says : 

" The men by this time had collected in groups; 

and it was remarked that colonel R. M. Johnson was 
dead, but I contradicted the report ; also, that the great 
Indian commander, Tecumseh, was slain ; I asked by 
what authority ? I was told that Anthony Shane, who 
had known him from a small boy, said so, and had 
seen him among the slain. In a short time I saw 
Shane with a small group of men, walking towards a 
dead Indian ; as he approached the body, I asked him 
if he knew that Indian. He said it was, in his opin- 
ion. Tecumseh ; but he could tell better if the blood 
was taken from his face. I examined the Indian. He 
was shot in the left side of the breast with several balls 
or buck shot, all entering near and above the left nip- 
ple. There was also a woiuid in his head, too small 
for a rifle ball to make." 

Atwater, in his History of Ohio, remarks, that two 
Winnebago chiefs, Four-Legs and Carymaunee, told 
him, that Tecumseh, at the commencement of the battle 
of the Thames, lay with his warriors in a thicket of 



202 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

underbrush on the left of the American army, and that 
they were, at no period of the battle, out of their covert 
— that no officer was seen between them and the Amer- 
ican troops — that Tecumseh fell the very first fire of 
the Kentucky dragoons, pierced by thirty bullets, and 
was carried four or five miles into the thick woods and 
there buried by the warriors, who told the story of his 
fate. 

In 1838, a writer in the Baltimore American pub- 
lished Black Hawk's account of the fall of Tecmiiseh. 
It is as follows : 

" Shortly after this, the Indian spies came in 

and gave word of the near approach of the Americans: 
Tecumseh immediately posted his men in the edge of a 
swamp, which flanked the British line, placing himself 
at their head. I was a little to his right with a small 
party of Sauks. It was not long before the Americans 
made their appearance; they did not perceive us at 
first, hid as we were by the undergrowth, but we soon 
let them know where we were, by pouring in one or 
two vollies as they were forming into line to oppose 
the British. They faltered a little; but very soon we 
perceived a large body of horse (colonel Johnson's re- 
giment of mounted Kentuckians) preparing to charge 
upon us in the swamp. They came bravely on ; yet 
we never stirred until they were so close that we could 
see the flints in their guns, when Tecumseh, sprniging 
to his feet, gave the Shawanoe Avar-cry, and discharged 
liis rifle. Tliis was the signal for us to commence the 
battle, but it did not last long; the Americans answered 
the shout, returning our flre, and at the first discharge 
of their guns, I saw Tecumseh stagger forwards over a 
i'allen tree, near which he was standing, letting his rifle 
drop at his feet. As soon as the Indians discovered 
that he was killed, a sudden fear came over them, and 
thinking the Great Spirit was angry, they fought no 
longer, and were quickly put to flight. That night we 
returned to bury our dead ; and search for the body of 
Tecumseh. He was found l^^ing where he had first 
fallen; a bullet had struck him above the hip, and his 
skull had been broken by the butt end of the gun of 
some soldier, who had found him, perhaps, when life 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 203 

was not yet quite gone. With the exception of these 
wounds, his body was untouclied: lying near him was 
a large fine looking Potawatamie, who had been killed, 
decked off in his plumes and war-paint, whom the 
Americans no doubt had taken for Tecumseh, for he 
was scalped, and every particle of skin flayed from his 
body. Tecumseh himself had no ornaments aboiU his 
person, save a British medal. During the night, we 
buried our dead, and brought off the body of Tecum- 
seh, although we were in sight of the fires of the Ame- 
rican camp." 

James, a British historian,* after describing the battle 
of the Thames, remarks : 

" It seems extraordinary that general Harrison should 
have omitted to mention in his letter, the death of a 
chief, whose fall contributed so largely to break down 
the Indian spirit, and to give peace and security to the 
whole north-western frontier of the United States. Te- 
cumseh, although he had received a musket ball in the 
left arm, was still seeking the hottest of the fire, when 
ne encountered colonel Richard M. Johnson, member 
of congress from Kentucky. Just as the chief, having 
discharged his rifle, was rushing forward with his tom- 
ahawk, he received a ball in the head from the colo- 
nel's pistol. Thus fell the Indian warrior, Tecumseh, 
in the forty-fourth year of his age.* * * * * * The 
body of Tecumseh was recognized, not only by the 
British oflicers, who were prisoners, but by commodore 
Perry, and several American officers." 

This writer adds, that Tecumseh was scalped and his 
body flayed by the Kentuckians. 

In Butler's History of Kentucky, there is a letter 
from the reverend Obediah B. Brown, of Washington 
city, then a clerk in the general post-office, under date 
of 18th September, 1834, in which the writer says, in 
substance : 

That colonel Johnson, while leading the advance up- 
on the left wing of the Indians, saw an Indian com- 
mander, who appeared to be a rallying point for his 



* " Military Occuirences of the Late War between Great Britain and tho 
United States, by William James, 2 vols. London, 1318." 



204 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

savage companions, and whose costume indicated th( 
superiority of his ranl^ ; that colonel Johnson, sitting 
upon his horse, covered with wounds and very faini 
with the loss of blood, and having a pistol in his righi 
hand loaded with a ball and three buck-shot, though! 
that the fate of the battle depended upon killing this 
formidable chief, and he accordingly rode round a fallenj 
tree for this purpose ; that the chief, perceiving his ap- 
proach, levelled his rifle and shot the colonel in the left 
hand ; that the colonel continued to advance upon him. 
and at the moment when the Indian was raising hisi 
tomahawk, shot him dead with his pistol ; that this 
deed spread consternation among the savages, and with 
hideous yells, they began from that point their retreat ; 
that as soon as the battle ended, the Indian killed by 
colonel Johnson was recognized as Tecumseh ; and be- 
fore the colonel had so far recovered from the effects of 
his wounds as to be able to speak, word ran through 
the army that he had killed Tecumseh; and finally, 
that a medal was taken from the body which was 
known to have been presented to this chief by the 
British government. Mr. Brown further states, that a 
conversation w^hich he had with Anthony Shane, some 
years since, strengthened his belief that Tecumseh fell 
by the hand of colonel Johnson ; that Shane told him 
he went, after the battle, to the spot where it was re- 
ported the colonel had killed an Indian, and there he 
saw the dead body of Tecumseh, and that he must 
have been killed by a horseman, as a ball and three 
buck-shot had entered the breast and passed down- 
wards ; that he could not be mistaken as to the body 
of Tecumseh, as he had a remarkable scar upon his 
thigh, which, upon examination, was found as he had 
described it. 

By recurring to the foregoing statements, it will be 
seen that eight Indians have borne testimony in relation 
to the death of Tecumseh. Of these, four assert that 
he was killed by the first fire from the American line; 
and four that he fell by the hands of a horseman, some 
time after the commencement of the action. One of 
these witnesses states that Tecumseh was shot in the 
neck ; another, that he was hit above or in the eyes ; 



\ 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 205 

I two Others that he was killed by a ball in the hip ; and 
[again two others, that he was pierced by thirty bnllets 
ion the first fire of our troops. Three of these witness- 
|es testify that the body of the fallen chief was niutila- 
Ited by taking the skin from off the thigh, and three 
ithat it was not. One of them saw the body the day 
I after the action, lying on the battle ground; a second 
I bears witness that it was buried on the spot the night 
of the battle; and a third, that it was carried four or 
five miles into the woods, and there interred. A fur- 
jther examniation of the testimony will show that these 
.eight witnesses concur but in one single point, — that 
jTecumseh was killed in the battle of the Thames. As 
jto the nature of his wounds, the mutilation of his body, 
the time when, the spot where, and by whose hands, he 
I fell, these various statements are wholly irreconcilable 
i with each other, and leave the main question involved 
in additional doubt and obscurity. 

As the claim of colonel Johnson to the honor 
of having killed Tecumseh, has been recently and 
earnestly urged upon the public consideration, we 
propose, even at the risk of some repetition, to ex- 
amine in detail the testimony which bears upon this 
point. 

It will be recollected that the Potawatamie chief, 
whose narrative is quoted from the " History of the In- 
dian Tribes of North America," testifies that Tecumseh 
met his death by a wound above or in the eyes ; and, 
that upon his fall the Indians ran. If these statements 
be true, Tecumseh could not have been killed by colo- 
nel Johnson, as will be satisfactorily established in the 
course of this examination. 

Shawbeneh, another Potawatamie chief, states that 
Tecumseh was mortally wounded in the neck, before 
he rushed upon the individual who killed him. All 
the other witnesses, except one, say that Tecumseh re- 
mained stationary, and that the horseman who fired 
the fatal shot, advanced upon him. 

Chamblee, the third Potawatamie who testifies in 
the case, states tha,t Tecumseh was engaged in a per- 
sonal conflict with a soldier armed with a musket, when 
a horseman, on a spotted horse, rode up und shot him 

S 



20t} LIFE OV TECUMSEH. 

dead with a pistol. This account is not sustained b^ 
any other witness. 

Captain M'Affee, who belonged to the mounted regi 
ment, and who has written a history of the late war 
says, it is generally believed that Tecumseh fell by fhi 
hand of colonel Johnson ; hut the historian candidl} 
admits that there was another dead Indian at the spoi 
where Tecumseh lay, and that Mr. Kmg, of captair 
Davidson's company, killed one of them. It may b( 
questioned whether there is or ever has been any gen 
eral belief — whatever vague reports may have beerl 
circulated, — that colonel Johnson killed this chief; bu, 
even if such were the case, it does not by any meanj 
establish the allegation. 

Brown, another historian of the late war, says, m 
general terms, that Tecumseh advanced upon the colo- 
nel with a sword or tomahawk, and that the colonel 
shot him dead. Tecumseh wore no sword in that ac- 
tion, nor did he advance upon colonel Johnson. Mr. 
Brown cites no authorities for his loose and general 
statements. 

Garrett Wall testifies that he went to the spot where 
he was told colonel Johnson had fought, and there 
questioned Anthony Shane about the dead Indian be- 
fore them. Shane remarked that he could tell bettei 
whether it was Tecumseh, if the blood was washed 
from the face. It does not appear that this was done, 
nor that Shane became satisfied as to the identity of 
the dead Indian. Mr. Wall infers that Tecumseh fell 
by a shot from colonel Johnson, because it was so re- 
ported, and because they both led their warriors to the 
charge, and the desire of victory brought them together. 
Mr. Wall cites no evidence to prove that the body over 
which Shane was doubting, fell by the colonel — a link 
in the chain of testimony, altogether important in mak- 
ing out his case. 

The Rev. Obediah B. Brown, however, at Washing- 
ton, is by far the most precise in his statements, of all 
the witnesses. But it is proper, before entering upon 
the examination of his testimony, to state that he was 
not at the battle of the Tliames; and that his letter, in 
regard to Tecumseh's death, was written in 1834, more 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 207 

than twenty years after the action was fought, and 
upon the eve of a political campaign, in which his 
friend, colonel Johnson, was an aspirant for a high and 
honorable otfice. Mr. Brown, it is further proper to 
add, derived his information from "several persons," 
but he has inadvertently omitted the names of all but 
one. 

He commences by saying, that colonel Johnson saw 
an Indian known to be a chief by his costume. Now 
it has been already shown that Tecumseh entered the 
action dressed in the plain deer-skin garb of his tribe, 
having nothing about him which would indicate his 
rank. The colonel thought, continues Mr. B., that the 
fate of the day depended upon the fall of this chief. 
iThe question might be asked whether the thoughts 
of colonel Johnson, at this particular juncture, became 
known to the witness by a logical process of ratiocina- 
tion, or by a direct personal communication from his 
Idistinguished friend ? He states further, that the colonel 
rode up within a few feet of the chief, received his fire, 
and then shot him dead with his pistol. This act, says 
the witness, caused the savages to retreat in consterna- 
ition : now, the fact is well established, that the Indians, 
|at this very point, fought bravely for twenty or twenty- 
Ifive minutes after colonel Johnson was compelled, by 
|his wounds, to leave the scene of action : it is further 
tated by Mr. B. that before the colonel was so far re- 
overed from his wounds, as to be able to speak, it ran 
through the army that he had killed Tecumseh. Mr. 
Wall, who was in the action, says, that after colonel 
Tohnson had retired from the contest, and was lifted 
from his horse, he said to those around him, "my brave 
iiien, the battle continues, leave me, and do not return 
until you bring me an account of the victory." Thus 
1 1 would seem that the colonel, within a few minutes 
ifter receiving his last wound, was giving orders to his 
lien, and in the mean time, according to Mr. B., "word 
ran tin'ough the army that he had killed Tecumseh." 
Phis is more remarkable, when it is recollected, that 
:he only person, except the commanding general, who 
bould identify the fallen chief, was Anthony Shane, 
jind he was in a diflerent part of the field, (on the bank 



208 LIFE UF TECUMSEH. 

of the Thames) and did not visit this part of the Jiiu 
until the action was entirely over! The witness fur 
ther states, that no other chief of high rank was killec 
in this part of the hue, but Tecumseh. Anthony Shane 
says that Tecumseh's brother-in-law, and principa 
chief, Wasegoboah, was killed ten or fifteen steps fron 
where Tecumseh fell. Black Hawk also testifies, tha 
near Tecumseh, there was lying a large, fine lookim 
Potawatamie, decked off in his plumes and war-paint 
whom the Americans mistook for Tecumseh. Mr. B 
says that a medal was taken from the body of the In 
dian killed by colonel Johnson, which was known t( 
have been presented by the British government t( 
Tecumseh. Where is the authority for this? Wher 
Shane was examining the body, and so much in doub 
whether it was Tecumseh as to require the blood to b( 
washed from the face, before he could decide with cer 
tainty, where was this medal, which of itself woulc 
have settled the question of identity? It is singular 
that neither Shane nor Wall speaks of a medal. Mr 
B. says that Tecumseh was killed by a ball and thre( 
buckshot, fired by a horseman, and as colonel Johnsoi 
was the only person in that part of the battle whc 
fought on horseback, his pistols being loaded witl 
a ball and three buckshot, settles the question, thai 
the colonel killed Tecumseh. Again, the question ma) 
be asked, how Mr. B. knows the fact as to the mannei 
in which these pistols were loaded ? And if they wert 
so loaded, who can say whether the chief was killed by 
this shot, the wound in the eyes, that in the neck, oi 
the one in the hip? But again; colonel Johnson was 
not the only person who fought on horseback in this 
part of the battle. He led a " forlorn hope" of twenty 
men, all mounted; while on his left was Davidson's 
company of one hundred and forty men, also on horse- 
back. Mr. Wall, who was one of the " forlorn hope,'' 
says, "the fighting became very severe, each party 
mingling with the other." Finally, Mr. B. closes his 
testimony with the remark, that it was well known 
and acknowledged, by the British and Indians, at the 
time, that Tecumseh received his death from the hand 
of colonel Johnson, as appears by James' History of 



LIFE OF TECUMSEII. 209 

the Late War. It is stated by the historian here cited, 
that colonel Johnson shot Tecumseh in the head — that 
the body was recognized not only by the British officers 
who were prisoners, but by commodore Perry and 
several other American officers: Mr. James also ex- 
})resses his surprise that general Harrison should have 
omitted, in his official letter to the War Department, to 
mention the death of this chief. Now, we have the 
authority of several American officers, of high rank, 
lor stating, that these Brhish officers were not, on the 
evening of the day on which the action was fought, in 
that part of the line where Tecumseh fell; and that 
early on the ensuing morning, they were taken to a 
liouse two miles below the battle ground, and from 
thence to Detroit, without returning to the scene of 
their defeat. Mr. James is, therefore, incorrect on this 
point, as he certainly is, in saying that commodore 
Perry and other American officers recognized the body 
of Tecumseh. The commodore had never seen this 
chief prior to the afternoon of the battle in which he 
fell. General Harrison, it is believed, was the only 
American officer in the engagement, who had a per- 
sonal knowledge of Tecumseh. The day after the 
battle, the general, attended by several of his officers, 
visited the battle ground. The body of the Indian, 
supposed to be that of Tecumseh, was pointed out to 
him, but owing to its swollen condition, he was unable 
to say whether it was Tecumseh, or a Potawatamie 
chief, who usually visited Vincennes in company with 
him : he felt confident it was one of the two, but fur- 
ther than this could not pronounce with certainty. 
Mr. James and Anthony Shane are Mr. Brown's chief 
witnesses. The first states that Tecumseh was shot 
with a musket ball in the arm, and finally killed by a 
ball in the head from colonel Johnson's pistol : the se- 
cond testifies that he fell by a ball and three buckshot 
which entered his left breast, and that he was wound- 
ed in no other part: the former says that Tecumseh's 
body was literally flayed — the latter, that only a small 
piece of skin was cut from one of his thighs.* It re- 

* See James' Military Occurrences, and Anthony Shane's Narrative. 



210 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

mains for Mr. Brown to reconcile these glaring dis- 
crepancies in the testimony of his own witnesses. If 
this dissection of Mr. Brown's elaborated letter, pre- 
sents him more in the light of the partizan advocate 
than the faithful historian, we are not responsible for 
it ; and if he has failed to establish the fact that colonel 
Johnson killed Tecumseh, he must probably look for 
the reason of that failure in the weakness of his claims, 
rather than in any lack of zeal in advocating the colo- 
nel's cause. 

Our analysis of the testimony which has at different 
times been brought before the public, tending to estab- 
lish the supposition that Tecumseh fell by the hands of 
colonel Johnson, is now closed ; and we think it will 
be admitted, in reviewing the case, that the claims of 
the colonel have not been satisfactorily established, 
either by direct or circumstantial evidence. But we 
have further testimony to offer on this point. 

It is proved by a number of witnesses, and among 
them several who are relied upon to establish the fact, 
that colonel Johnson killed Tecumseh, that upon the 
fall of this chief, the action ceased and the Indians fled. 

Even the reverend Mr. Brown admits such to have 
been the case. Now, we propose to show that colonel 
Johnson was wounded and retired from the scene of 
action at its commencement ; and that the contest lasted 
for twenty or thirty minutes afterwards. As to the 
first point, captain Davidson, who was by the side of 
colonel Johnson, says, ^- We struck the Indian line ob- 
liquely, and when we approached within ten or fifteen 
yards of their line, the Indians poured in a heavy fire 
upon us, killing ten or fifteen of our men and several 
horses, and wounding colonel Johnson very severely. 
He immediately retired."* Colonel Ambrose Dudley 
says, " As I passed to the left, near the crochet, after the 
firing had ceased on the right, I met colonel R. M. 
Johnson passing diagonally from the swamp towards 
the line of infantry, and spoke with him. He said he 
was badly wounded, his gray mare bleeding profusely 
in several places. The battle continued with the In- 

* Cincinnati Republican, 30th September, 1840. 



LIFE OF TKCrMSEH. 211 

dians on the left. The infantry, with some of colonel 
R. M. Johnson's troops mixed up promiscuously with 
them, continued the battle for half an hour after co- 
lonel Johnson was disabled and had ceased to com- 
mand his m(m." "^ Doctor S. Theobald, of Lexington, 
Kentucky, one of the surgeons to the mounted regi- 
ment, says, "colonel Johnson was wounded in the on- 
NCt of the battle. I had the honor to compose one of his 
'• forlorn hope," and followed him in tlie charge. It is 
impossible, under such circumstances, to estimate time 
with precision ; but I know the period was a very brief 
one from the firing of the first guns, which indeed was 
tremendously heavy, till colonel Johnson approached 
me covered with wounds, but still mounted. I think 
he said to me, I am severely wounded, which way 
shall I go ? That I replied, follow me, which he did : 
a nd I conducted him directly across the swamp, on the 
margin of which we had charged, and to the point 
where doctor Mitchell, surgeon-general of Shelby's 
corps, was stationed. Some one hundred and fifty or 
two hundred yards in the rear, colonel Johnson was 
taken from his horse. He appeared faint and much 
exhausted. I asked him if he would have water, to 
which he answered, yes. I cast about immediately for 
some, but there was none at hand, nor any thing that 
I could see to bring it in, better than a common funnel, 
which I saw lying on the ground, and which I seized 
and ran to the river, (Thames) a distance probably of 
one hundred yards or more ; and closing the extremity 
of the funnel with my finger, made use of it as a cup, 
from which I gave him drink. In a few minutes after 
this, Garret Wall, who also composed one of the " for- 
lorn hope," and was thrown from his horse in the charge, 
came and solicited me to return with him to the ground 
on which we had charged, to aid him in recovering his 
lost saddle-bags. I assented. We crossed the narrow 
swamp, to which I have before alluded, and had not 
progressed far, before we came to the body of one of 
our men who had been killed, and who I recognized as 
Mansfield, of captain Stucker's company : a little fur- 
s' See Cincinnati Republican, 30th September, 1840. 



212 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. | 

ther, that of Scott, of Coleman's company; and pro-l 
gressing some forty or fifty steps (it may have bec! 
more,) in advance of that, we found our venerable anu 
brave old comrade, colonel Whitley, who was also j 
of the "forlorn hope." Near him, in a moment, I well j 
remember to have noticed, with a feeling and exclama- 1 
tion of exultation, the body of an Indian ; and some i 
twenty or tliirty steps in advance of this, another Indi- ; 
an, which last was afterwards designated as the body j 
of Tecumseh. I distinctly recollect, that as we return- 
ed to make this search, the firing was still kept up some 
distance off on our left."* 

Testimony on these points might be multiplied, but 
could add nothing to the force of that which is here 
cited. The letter of Dr. Theobald is conclusive as to 
the time when colonel Johnson was wounded, and the 
period during which the action continued after lie retir- 
ed from the battle ground. It seems the colonel was 
disabled at the beginning of the action with the Indi- 
ans, and immediately rode from the field ; that the ac- 
tion lasted for near half an hour ; that Tecumseh fell 
at or near the close of it : and that he could not, there- 
fore, have fallen by the hand of colonel Johnson. Whe- 
ther the leader of the "forlorn hope" can claim the 
credit of having actually killed an Indian chief on this 
memorable day, is not the immediate question before 
us : that he acted with dauntless bravery, in promptly 
charging the Indian line, during the brief period which 
he remained unwounded, is universally admitted; but 
that he is entitled to the honor, (if such it may be call- 
ed,) of having personally slain the gifted " king of the 
woods," will not be so readily conceded. 

James, the British historian, from whose " Military 
Occurrences " we have already quoted, having charged 
general Harrison with designedly omitting, in his offi- 
cial report, all reference to the death of Tecumseh, 
leaves the inference to be drawn by the reader, that the 
omission was prompted by a feeling of envy towards 
colonel Johnson, who had done the deed. It is due to 
the cause of truth, not less than to the reputation of the 

* Dr. Theobald's letter, dated 27th November, 1840, in possession of 
the author of this worlc. 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 213 

American coniinauder, that this charge should be im- 
partially exaiaiiied. It is true, that the official account 
of ihe brittle of the Thames does not mention the death 
of Tecumseh, and the propriety of this omission will be 
SLiliiciently ojjvious from the following narrative. 

General Harrison and Anthony Shane, so fer as it is 
known, were the only persons in the American army 
who were personally acquainted with Tecumseh. It is 
possible that some of the friendly Indians, commanded 
by Shane, may have known him ; but it does not appear 
that any of them undertook to identity the body after 
the battle was over. Shane was under the impression, 
on the evening of the action, that he had found the 
body of Tecumseh among the slain ; but, as Mr. Wall 
testifies, expressed himself with caution. General Har- 
rison himself was not, on the following day, enabled to 
identify with certainty the body of this chief, as appears 
from the testimony of a member of the general's milita- 
ry family, which we here quote, as having a direct bear- 
ing on the question under consideration : 

<'I am authorised," says colonel Charles S. Todd,* 
" by several officers of general Harrison's staff, who 
were in the battle of the Thames, to state most unequiv- 
ocally their belief, that the general neither knew nor 
could have known the fact of the death of Tecumseh, 
at the date of his letter to the war department. It was 
Ihe uncertainty which prevailed, as to the fact of Te- 
*:umseh's being killed, that prevented any notice of it 
\n his report. On the next day after the battle, general 
Harrison, in company with commodore Perry and oth- 
2v officers, examined the body of an Indian supposed to 
be Tecumseh ; but from its swollen and mutilated con- 
dition, he was unable to decide whether it was that 
chief or a Potawatamie who usually visited him at Vin- 
cennes, in company with Tecumseh ; and I repeat most 
unhesitatingly, that neither commodore Perry nor any 
officer in the American army, excepting general Harri- 
son, had ever seen Tecumseh previously to the battle; 
and even though he had recognized the body which he 

* One of the aids of general Harrison, and inspector-general of the Uni- 
ted States army, during the late war. 



214 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

examined to be that of the celebrated chief, it was mai 
ifestly impossible that he could have known wliether 1 
was killed by Johnson's corps, or by that part of tl 
infantry which par icipated in the action. No official ( 
other satisfactory report of his death, was made to hi] 
by those engage jd on that part of the battle groun 
where he fell. It was not until after the return of tt 
army to Detroit, and after the date of general Harr 
son's despatches,* that it was ascertained from the em 
my, that Tecumseh was certainly killed; and even the 
the opinion of the army was divided as to the perso 
by whose hands he fell. Some claimed the credit o 
it for colonel Whitley, some for colonel Johnson ; bi 
others, constituting a majority, including governor She 
by, entertained the opinion that he fell by a shot froi 
David King, a private in captain Davidson's compam 
from Lincoln county, Kentucky. In this state of th 
case, even had the fact of Tecumseh's death been fu 
iy ascertained, at the date of general Harrison's lette 
it would have been manifestly unjust, not to say in 
practicable, for the commander-in-chief to have e: 
pressed an opinion as to the particular individual 1 
whose personal prowess his death was to be attr 
buted."t 

In taking leave of this branch of our subject, it ma 
be remarked, that the strong terms of approbation i 
which general Harrison, in his official account of th 
battle of the Thames, speaks of the bravery and bea 
ing of colonel Johnson in the conflict, should ha^ 
shielded him from the suspicion that any unkind fee 
ing towards that officer was allowed to sway his jud« 
ment in the preparation of his report. 

We now proceed to give some testimony in favor o 
other individuals, whose friends have claimed for thei 
the credit of having slain Tecumseh. It has been a 
ready stated, that before our army left the field of ba 
tie, it was reported and believed by many of the troop 

* Early on the 7th, general Harrison left the army under the commar 
of governor Shelby, and returned to Detroit. His report of the battle, w 
dated on the 9th. The army did not reach Sandwich, opposite Detioi 
until the 10th. 

f See Louisville Journal. 



LIFE OF tecumsj:h. 215 

It colonel Whitley, of Johnson's corps of mounted 
in, had killed the Indian commander in the action of 
3 Thames. The only testimony, in conjfirmation of 
is report, which has fallen under our observation, is 
ntained in the two following communications. The 
St is a letter from Mr. Abraham Scribner, now of 
•eenville, Ohio, under date of September 8th, 1840. 
le writer says — " I had never seen Tecumseh, imtil 
3 body was shown to me on the battle ground on the 
'er Thames : by whose hand he fell must always be a 
itter of uncertainty. My own opinion was, the day 
:er the battle, and is yet, that Tecumseh fell by a ball 
►m the rifle of colonel Whitley, an old Indian fighter: 
o balls passed through colonel Whitley's head, at the 
)ment that Tecumseh fell; he (colonel W^hitley,) was 
3n to take aim at the Indian said to be Tecumseh, 
d his rifle was found empty." 

The second is from colonel Ambrose Dudley, of Cin- 
mati, under date of 24th February, 1841, and is in 
3 following words : 

" The morning after the battle of the Thames, in com- 
ny with several other persons, I walked over the 
3und, to see the bodies of those who had been slain 
the engagement. After passing from the river a 
Qsiderable distance, and the latter part of the way 
)ng what was termed a swamp, viewing the slain 
the British army, we came to a place where some 
If a dozen persons were standing, and three dead In- 
ms were lying close together. One of the spectators 
narked, that he had witnessed that part of the engage- 
3nt which led to the death of these three Indians and 
o of our troops, whose bodies had been removed the 
ening before for burial. He proceeded to point out 
3 position of the slain as they lay upon the ground, 
th that of our men. He said old colonel W^hitley 
ie up to the body of a tree, which lay before him, 
d behind which lay an Indian : he (the Indian,) at- 
upted to fire, but from some cause did not succeed, 
d then Whitley instantly shot him. This Indian was 
cognized by one of the persons present as Tecumseh : 
3 next Indian was pointed out as having killed Whit- 
r ; then the position of another of our troops who kill- 



21 G LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

ed that Indian, and the Indian who killed him, with 1 
position of the man who shot the third Indian — maki 
three Indians and two Americans who had fallen oi 
very small space of gromid. From the manner of 1 
narrator, and the facts related at the time, I did ] 
doubt the truth of his statement, nor have I ever li 
any reason to doubt it since. The Indian pointed ( 
as Tecumseh, was wearing a bandage over a wound 
the arm, and as it was known that Tecumseh had be 
slightly wounded in the arm the day before, while ( 
fending the passage of a creek, my conviction a^ 
strengthened by this circumstance, that the body bef( 
us was that of Tecumseh." 

The reader will decide for himself how far this te: 
mony sustains the plea that has been raised for colo; 
Whitley. It is certainly clear and to the point, a 
presents a plausible case in support of his claim. 

Mr. David King is the other individual to wh( 
reference has been made as entitled to the credit 
having killed the great Shawanoe chief. He was a j 
vate in captain James Davidson's company of mou 
ed men, belonging to Johnson's corps. The stateuK 
given below in support of King's claim, was writi 
by the editor of the Frankfort (Ky.) Commentator, a 
published in that journal in 1831. It is given on 1 
autliority of captain Davidson and his brother, t^ 
highly respectable citizens of Kentucky, both of wh( 
belonged to colonel Johnson's mounted regiment, a 
were in the battle of the Thames. We have omiti 
the first part of this statement as irrelevant to the po 
in issue. 

" While these things were acting in this part of 1 
field, and towards the close of the action, which ( 
not last long — for though much was done, it was dc 
quickly — when the enemy was somewhat thinned a 
considerably scattered, and our men were scattei 
amongst them, Clark, one of the men mentioned abo^ 
suddenly called out to his comrade, David King, 
" take care of the Indian that was near to him." T 
warrior turned upon Clark ; at the same instant, Ki 
fired at him with Whitley's gun, and lodged the U 
balls which he knew it was loaded with, in the clii 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 217 

in's breast — ^for when Whitley fell, King threw away 
:s own gun, and took the better one and the powder 
)rn of the old Indian fighter. The Indian droped 

Don King's fire : — " Whoop — by G " exclaimed 

ing, " he was every inch a soldier. I have killed one 

d yellow bugger,'' and passed on. Giles saw this 

icurrence as well as Clark, and so did Von Treece 
-they were all together. From the commencement 
' the fight, the voice of an Indian commander had 
jen distinctly heard and observed by our soldiers, 
bout this time it ceased, and was heard no more : 
\cumseh was dead. Presently a cry of " how ! 
?i^."' was raised among the Indians; upon which 
ey turned and fled, pursued by our soldiers. 

" Upon the return of the volunteers from the pur- 
lit. King proposed to Sam Davidson, his friend and 
lative, and to other comrades, to go round with him 
r the spot where he had killed the Indian, because he 
anted to get his fine leggins. They had noticed a 
irticular tree and a log, near to which the Indian fell, 
hey found the tree without difficulty, but the body 
as not discovered quite so readily ; but King insisted 
at it must be somewhere thereabouts. Sam David- 
•n first discovered it. It was lying behind a tree, face 
)wnward. ^^ Here he is,'^ said Davidson, " but I see 
3 wound upon him." " Boll him over/^ said King, 
and if it is my Indian, you will find two bullet holes 
: his left breast." It was done ; and there were the 
vo bullet holes, an inch apart, just below the left pap 
-the same, no doubt, where King's balls had entered, 
he Indian, from his dress, was evidently a chief His 
nciful leggins, (King's main object in hunting out the 
)dy,) his party-colored worsted sash, his pistols, his 
vo dirks, all his dress and equipments, were the un- 
Ispiited spoils of King. He kept one of the dirks, the 
Lsh, and moccasins for himself; the rest he distributed 
5 presents among his messmates. 

"Now, it was this very Indian, which was after- 
wards identified by those who had known him, as Te- 
UMSEH — this and no other. ^"^ 

This testimony, coming as it does from a highly re- 
sectable quarter, would seem to be conclusive in favor 
T 



218 LIFE OF TECUiMSEH. 

of the claim of King-. It contains, however, statements 
which, if true, greatly weaken its force ; and, indeed, in 
our opinion, dissipate at once the idea that the Indian 
killed by King was Tecumseh. The narrative states 
that " the Indian, from his dress, was evidently a chief. 
His fanciful leggins, his party-colored worsted sash, 
his pistols, his two dirks, all his dress and equipments, 
were the undisputed spoils of King." Now, if there 
be any one fact coiniected with the fall of Tecumseh 
which is fully and fairly established upon unimpeach- 
able authority, it is, that he entered the battle of the 
Thames, dressed in the ordinary deer-skin garb of his 
tribe. There was nothing in his clothes, arms or orna- 
ments, indicating him to have been a chief On this 
pomt the testimony of Anthony Shane is explicit ; and 
his statement is confirmed by colonel Baubee of the 
British army, who was familiarly acquainted with Te- 
cumseh. This officer, the morning after the action, 
stated to one of the aids of general Harrison, that he 
saw Tecumseh just before the battle commenced, and 
that he was clothed in his usual plain deer-skin dress, 
and in that garb took his position in the Indian line, 
where he heroically met his fate. The testimony in 
favor of Mr. King's claim, while it proves very satis- 
factorily that he killed an Indian, is equally conclusive, 
we think, in establishing the fact that that Indian was 
not the renowned Tecumseh. 

With the statement of one other person, upon this 
vexed question, we shall take our final leave of it. 
Major William Oliver, of Cincinnati, in a communica- 
tion to the author, under date of 23d December, I84O3 
says : — 

" In 1819, 1 lodged with Anthony Shane, at what was 
then called " the Second Crossing of the St. Mary's." 1 
had known Shane intimately for a long time, indeed, 
from my first settlement at fort Wayne, in 1806. In 
speaking of the battle of the Thames, and the fall of 
Tecumseh, he said, the most authentic information he 
had obtained upon this point, was from two brothers of 
liis wife, who were in the battle, and near the person 
of Tecumseh when he fell. They stated, in positive 
terms, that Tecumseh was shot by a private of the Ken- 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 219 

tucky troops ; and Shane seemed so well satisfied with 
the truth of their statement, that he informed me it was 
entitled to belief." 

To John Johnston, of Piqiia, late Indian agent, and 
others, Shane, at this early period, expressed the opinion 
that Tecumseh did not fall by the hands of the com- 
mander of the mounted regiment. The reader of this 
volume will recollect, that long subsequent to the period 
when these opinions were expressed, and upon the eve 
of a political campaign, in which colonel R. M. John- 
son was a candidate for a high and honorable office, 
Anthony Shane is represented by the reverend 0. B. 
Brown, as having stated to him his belief, that Tecum- 
seh did meet his death by a shot from the colonel. 
Shane, who, we believe, is now deceased, sustained, 
through life, a character for integrity. Whether, in his 
latter years, his memory had failed him, by which he 
was led to express these contradictory opinions, or 
whether Mr. Brown misunderstood the import of his 
language, when talking upon this matter, we shall not 
undertake to decide. The reader who feels an interest 
in the point at issue will settle the question for himself, 
whether, under the peculiar circumstances of the case, 
the early or late declarations of Shane were the genu- 
ine expression of his belief on this subject. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



Mr. Jefferson's opinion of the Prophet — brief sketch of his character — anec- 
dotes of Tecumseh — a review of the great principles of his plan of union 
among the tribes — general summary of his life and character. 

Mk. Jefferson, in a letter to John Adams,* says : 
*' The Wabash Prophet is more rogue than fool, if to 
be a rogue is not the greatest of all lollies. He rose to 
notice while I was in the administration, and became, 
of course, a proper subject for me. The inquiry was 

* Jefferson's Correspondence, vol, 10. p. 171. 



520 LIFE OF TECUMSEn. 

made with diligence. His declared object was the re 
fbrmation of his red brethren, and their return to thei 
pristine manner of living. He pretended to be in con 
stant communication with the Great Spirit ; that he wa 
instructed by Him to make known to the Indians tha 
they were created by Him distinct from the whites, Oj 
different natures, for different purposes, and placed un 
der different circumstances, adapted to their nature an( 
destinies ; that they must return from all the ways o 
the whites to the habits and opinions of their forefa 
thers ; they must not eat the flesh of hogs, of bullocks 
of sheep, &c., the deer and buffalo having been create( 
for their food ; they must not make bread of wheat, bu 
of Indian corn ; they must not wear linen nor woollen 
but dress like their fathers, in the skins and furs of ani 
mals ; they must not drink ardent spirits ; and I do no 
remember whether he extended his inhibitions to th 
gun and gunpowder, in favor of the bow and arrow 
I concluded, from all this, that he was a visionary, en 
veloped in their antiquities, and vainly endeavoring t( 
lead back his brethren to the fancied beatitudes of thei 
golden age. I thought there was little danger of hi 
making many proselytes from the habits and comfort 
they had learned from the whites, to the hardships am 
privations of savagism, and no great harm if he did 
We let him go on, therefore, unmolested. But his fol 
lowers increased until the British thought him wort] 
corrupting, and found him corruptible. I suppose hi 
views were then changed ; but his proceedings in con 
sequence of them, were after I left the administratior 
and are, therefore, unknown to me ; nor have I eve 
been informed what were the particular acts on his pan 
. Avhich produced an actual commencement of hostilitie 
on ours. I have no doubt, however, that his subse 
quent proceedings are but a chapter apart, like that o 
Henry and Lord Liverpool, in the book of the King 
of England." 

Mr. Jefferson's account of the Prophet's " budget o 
reform," is correct as far as it goes : it embraced, how 
ever, many other matters, looking to the amelioratioi 
of savage life. Whatever may have been his origina 
object, in the promulgation of his new code of ethics 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 221 

there is enough, we tliink, in the character and conduct 
of this individual to warrant the opinion, that he was 
really desirous of doing good to his race ; and, that with 
many foibles, and some positive vices, he was not des- 
titute of benevolent and generous feelings. That in as- 
suming the character of a prophet, he had, in connec- 
tion with his brother, ulterior objects in view, is not to 
be doubted. It so happened, that the adoption of his 
doctrines was calculated to promote harmony among 
the tribes ; and this was the very foundation of the grand 
confederacy, to which he and Tecumseh were zealous- 
ly devoting the energies of their minds. 

After the premature and, to the Indians, disastrous 
battle of Tippecanoe, the Prophet began to fall into ob- 
scurity. The result of that action materially diminish- 
ed the wide spread influence which he had attained 
over his countrymen. The incantations, by means of 
which he had played upon their imaginations, and 
swayed their conduct, lost their potency. The inspir- 
ed messenger of the Great Spirit, as he openly pro- 
claimed himself, had boldly promised his followers 
an easy victory over their enemies. A battle was 
fought — the Indians were defeated — and the gory form 
of many a gallant, but credulous "brave," attested that 
the renowned Prophet had lost, amid the carnage of 
that nocturnal conflict, his office and his power. 

At the time when this battle was fought, Tecumseh 
was on a mission to the southern Indians, with the view 
of extending his warlike confederacy. He had left in- 
structions with the Prophet, to avoid any hostile collis- 
ion with the whites ; and from the deference which the 
latter usually paid to the wishes of the former, it is not 
probable that the battle would have occurred, had not 
extraneous influence been brought to bear upon the 
leader. The reason assigned by the Prophet to his 
brother, for this attack upon the army under general 
Harrison, is not known; but some of the Indians who 
were in this engagement, subsequently stated that the 
Winnebagoes forced on the battle contrary to the wishes 
of the Prophet. This is not improbable ; yet, admitting 
it to be true, if he had taken a bold and decided stand 
against the measure, it might, in all probability, have 



222 J^IFE OF TliCUMSEH. 

been prevented. The influence of the Prophet, howev 
er, even at this time, was manifestly on the wane, an( 
some of his followers were beginning to leave his camp 
He doubtless felt that it was necessary to do somethin| 
to sustain himself: a signal victory over the white 
would accomplish this end ; and hence he consentec 
the more readily, to the wishes of the Winnebagoes 
that an attack should be made, in the hope that i 
would prove successful. 

Within a few months after this battle, war was de 
clared against England by the United States. Tecum 
seh and the Prophet, discouraged in regard to thei 
union of the tribes, decided on joining the British stand 
ard. The love of fighting, however, was not a re 
markable trait of the Prophet's character. He won n( 
military laurels during the continuance of that war 
and although in the vicinity of the Moravian town oi 
the 5th of October, IS13, he did not choose to partici 
pate in the action at the Thames. After the return o 
peace, he resided in the neighborhood of Maiden fo 
some time, and iinally returned to Ohio : from whence 
with a band of Shawanoes, he removed west of th 
Mississippi, where he resided until the period of hi 
death, which occurred in the year 1834. It is stated, ii 
a foreign periodical,* that the British government al 
lowed him a pension from the year 1813, to the clos 
of his life. 

In forming an estimate of the Prophet's character, i 
seems unjust to hold him responsible for all the numer 
ous aggressions which were committed by his follow 
ers upon the property and persons of the whites. Hi 
first proselytes were from the most worthless and vi 
cious portion of the tribes from which they were drawr 
'> The young men especially, who gathered about bin: 
like the young men who brought on the war of Kin; 
Philip, were wrought up until the master spirit himsell 
lost his control over them; and to make the matte 
worse, most of them were of such a character in th 
first instance, that horse stealing and house breakiii! 
were as easy to them as breathing. Like the refugee 

* 'J'he United Service Journal — London. 



LIFE OP TECUMSEH. 223 

of Romulus, they were outcasts, vagabonds and crimi- 
nals ; in a great degree brought together by the novelty 
of the preacher's reputation, by curiosity to hear his 
doctrines, by the fascination of extreme credulity, by 
restlessness, by resentment against the whites, and by 
poverty and unpopularity at home."* To preserve an 
influence over such a body of men, to use them suc- 
cessfully as propagandists of his new doctrines, and, 
at the same time, prevent their aggressions upon the 
whites, who were oftentimes themselves the aggressors, 
required no small degree of talent ; and called into 
activity the utmost powers of the Prophet's mind. In 
addition to these adverse circumstances, he had to en- 
counter the opposition of all the influential chiefs in the 
surrounding tribes ; and a still more formidable adver- 
sary in the poverty and extreme want of provisions, 
which, on several occasions, threatened the total disrup- 
tion of his party, and undoubtedly led to many of the 
thefts and murders on the frontiers, of which loud and 
frequent complaints were made by the agents of the Uni- 
ted States. In a word, difliculties of various kinds were 
constantly recurring, which required the most ceaseless 
vigilance and the shrewdest sagacity on the part of the 
two brothers to obviate or overcome. The Prophet had 
a clear head, if not an honest heart ; courteous and in- 
sinuating in his address, with a quick wit and a fluent 
tongue, he seldom came out of any conference without 
rising in the estimation of those who composed it. He 
was no warrior, and from the fact of his never having 
engaged in a battle, the presumption has been raised 
that he was wanting in physical courage. With that 
of cowardice, the charge of cruelty has been associa- 
ted, from the cold-blooded and deliberate manner in 
which he put to death several of those who were sus- 
pected of having exercised an influence adverse to his 
plans, or calculated to lessen the value of the inspired 
character which he had assumed. Finally, it may be 
said of him, that he was a vain, loquacious and cun- 
ning man, of indolent habits and doubtful principles. 
Plausible but deceitful, prone to deal in the marvellous, 

* North American Review. 



224 LIFK OF TECUMSEII. 

quick of apprehension, affluent in pretexts, winnnig an 
eloquent, if not po\verful in debate, the Prophet ws 
peculiarly fitted to play the impostor, and to excite int 
strong action, the credulous fanaticism of the stern rac 
to which he belonged. Few men, in any age of th 
world, have risen more rapidly into extended notoriety 
wielded, for the time being, a more extraordinary d( 
gree of moral influence, or sunk more suddenly int 
obscurity, than the Prophet. 

Tecumseh was near six feet in stature, with a con 
pact, muscular frame, capable of great physical endi 
ranee. His head was of a moderate size, with a fore 
head full and high; his nose slightly aquiline, teet 
large and regular, eyes black, penetrating and ove] 
hung with heavy arched brows, which increased th 
uniformly grave and severe expression of his count( 
nance. He is represented by those who knew him, t 
have been a remarkably fine looking man, always plai 
but neat in his dress, and of a commanding personi 
presence. His portrait, it is believed, was never pain 
ed, owing probably to his strong prejudices against th 
whites. 

In the private and social life of Tecumseh there wei 
many things worthy of notice. He was opposed, o 
principle, to polygamy, a practice almost universal amon 
his countrymen. He was married but once ; and th: 
union, which took place at the age of twenty-eight, : 
said to have been more in compliance with the wish( 
of others than in obedience to the unbiassed impuls 
of his feelings or the dictates of his judgment. Mamj 
te, his wife, was older than himself, and possessed fe^ 
personal or mental qualities calculated to excite adm 
ration. A son, called Pugeshashenwa, (a panther i 
the act of seizing its prey,) was the only fruit of thi 
union. The mother died soon after his birth, and h 
was left to the care of his aunt, Tecumapease.* Th; 
son is now residing with the Shavvanoes west of th 
Mississippi, but is not distinguished for talents, or n 
nowned as a warrior. The British government, how 
ever, since the death of Tecumseh, has recognized ii 

* Recollections of John Johnston, and Anthony Shane. 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. \^0 J 

obligations to the father by the extension of an annual 
stipend to the son. 

From his boyhood, Tecumseh was remarkable for 
temperance and the strictest integrity. He was hospi- 
table, generous and humane ; and these traits were ac- 
knowledged in his character long before he rose to dis- 
tinction, or had conceived the project of that union of 
the tribes, on which the energies of his manhood were 
fruitlessly expended. He was, says an intelligent Shaw- 
anoe, who had known him from childhood, kind and 
attentive to the aged and infirm, looking personally to 
their comfort, repairing their frail wigwams when win- 
ter approached, giving them skins for moccasins and 
clothing, and sharing with them the choicest game 
which the woods and the seasons afforded. Nor were 
these acts of kindness bestowed exclusively on those 
of rank or reputation. On the contrary, he made it 
his business to search out the humblest objects of cha- 
rity, and in a quick, unostentatious manner, relieve their 
wants. 

The moral and intellectual qualities of Tecumseh 
place him above the age and the race in which his lot 
was cast. "From the earliest period of his life,'' says 
Mr. Johnston, the late Indian agent at Piqua, " Tecum- 
seh was distinguished for virtue, for a strict adherence 
to truth, honor, and integrity. He was sober * and ab- 
stemious, never indulging in the use of liquor nor eating 
to excess." Another respectable individual,! who resid- 
ed for near twenty years as a prisoner among the Shaw- 
anoes, and part of that time in the family of Tecum- 
seh, writes to us, " I know of no peculiarity about him 
that gained him popularity. His talents, rectitude of 
deportment, and friendly disposition, commanded the 
respect and regard of all about him. In short, I con- 
sider him a very great as well as a very good man, 
who, had he enjoyed the advantages of a liberal educa- 
tion, would have done honor to any age or any nation." 

Tecumseh had, however, no education, beyond that 

* Major James Galloway, of Xenia, states, that on one occasion, whilf 
Tecumseh was quite young, he saw him intoxicated. This is the oiilj 
aberration of the kind, which we have heard charged upon him. 

f Mr. Stephen RutUell. 



226 LIFE OP TECUMSEH. 

which the traditions of his race, and his own power o 
observation and reflection, afforded him. He rarel 
mingled with the whites, and very seldom attempted 1 
speak their language, of which his knowledge was e: 
tremely limited and superficial. 

When Burns, the poet, was suddenly transferred froi 
his plough in Ayrshire to the polished circles of Edii 
burg, his ease of manner, and nice observance of th 
rules of good-breeding, excited much surprise, and bi 
came the theme of frequent conversation. The sanr 
thing has been remarked of Tecumseh: Avhether seate 
at the tables of generals McArthur and Worthington, i 
he was during the council at Chillicothe in 1807, ( 
brought in contact with British officers of the highe 
rank, his manners were entirely free from vulgarity an 
coarseness: he was uniformly self-possessed, and wit 
the tact and ease of deportment which marked the po< 
of the heart, and which are falsely supposed to be tl: 
result of civilization and refinement only, he readily en 
commodated himself to the novelties of his new pos 
tion, and seemed more amused than annoyed by then 

The humanity of his character has been already po 
trayed in the pages of this work. His early efforts 1 
abolish the practice of burning prisoners — then commo 
among the Indians — and the merciful protection whic 
he otherwise invariably showed to captives, whether tj 
ken by himself or his companions, need no commendj 
tion at our hands. Rising above the prejudices an 
customs of his people, even when those prejudices an 
customs were tacitly sanctioned by the officers an 
agents of Great Britain, Tecumseh was never known 1 
offer violence to prisoners, nor to permit it in other 
So strong was his sense of honor, and so sensitive h 
feelings of humanity, on this point, that even fronti( 
women and children, throughout the wide space i 
which his character was known, felt secure from tb 
tomahawk of the hostile Indians, if Tecumseh was i 
the camp. A striking instance of this confidence : 
presented in the following anecdote. The British an 
Indians were encamped near the river Raisin ; an 
while holding a talk within eighty or one hundred yarc 
of Mrs. Ruland's house, some Sauks and Winnebagoe 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 227 

entered her dwelling, and began to plunder it. She 
immediately sent her httle daughter, eight or nine years 
old, requesting Tecumseh to come to her assistance. 
The child ran to the council house, and pulling Tecum- 
seh (who was then speaking) by the skirt of his hunt- 
ing-shirt, said to him, " Come to our house — there are 
bad Indians there." Without waiting to close his 
speech, the chief started for the house in a fast walk. 
On entering, he was met by two or three Indians drag- 
ging a trunk towards the door: he seized his tomahawk 
and levelled one of them at a blow : they prepared for 
resistance, but no sooner did they hear the cry, " dogs ! 
I am Tecumseh!'^ than under the flash of his indig- 
nant eye, they fled from the house: and "you,'' said 
Tecumseh, turning to some British officers, " are worse 
than dogs, to break your faith with prisoners." The 
officers expressed their regrets to Mrs. Ruland, and of- 
fered to place a guard around the house: this she de- 
clined, observing, that so long as that man, pointing to 
Tecumseh, was near them, she felt safe.* 

Tecumseh entertained a high and proper sense of 
personal character — was equally bold in defending his 
own conduct, and condemning that which was repre- 
hensible in others. In 1811, he abandoned his inten- 
tion of visiting the President, because he was not per- 
mitted to march to Washington at the head of a party 
of his warriors. As an officer in the British army, he 
never lost sight of the dignity of his rank, nor suffered 
any act of injustice towards those under his command 
to pass without resenting it. On one occasion, while 
the combined British and Indian forces were quartered 
at Maiden, there was a scarcity of provisions, the com- 
missary's department being supplied with salt beef on- 
ly, which was issued to the British soldiers, while horse 
flesh was given to the Indians. Upon learning this 
fact, Tecumseh promptly called on general Proctor, re- 
monstrated against the injustice of the measure, and 
complained, indignantly, of the insult thus oflered to 
himself and his men. The British general appeared 
indifferent to what was said; whereupon, the chief 

* On the authority of colonel John Ruland. 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

struck the hilt of Proctor's sword with his hand, thei 
touched the handle of his own tomahawk, and stern 
ly remarked, "You are Proctor — I am Tecumseh;' 
intimating, that if justice was not done to the Indians 
the affair must be settled by a personal rencontre be 
tween the two commanders. General Proctor prudent 
ly yielded the point.* 

But few of the numerous speeches made by Tecum 
seh have been preserved. Tradition speaks in exalte( 
terms of several efforts of this kind, of which no recor< 
was made. All bore evidence of the high order o] 
his intellectual powers. They were uniformly forcible 
sententious and argumentative ; always dignified, fre 
quently impassioned and powerful. He indulged nei 
ther in sophism nor circumlocution, but with bold am 
manly frankness, gave utterance to his honest opinions 
Mr. Ruddell, who knew him long and intimately, says 
that " he was naturally eloquent, very fluent, gracefn 
in his gestures, but not in the habit of using many ; tha 
there was neither vehemence nor violence in his style o; 
delivery, but that his eloquence always made a stronj 
impression on his hearers." Dr. Hunt, of Clark coun 
ty, Ohio, has remarked, that the first time he hean 
Henry Clay make a speech, his manner reminded him 
very forcibly, of that of Te'cumseh, in the council a 
Springfield, in the year 1807, on which occasion h( 
made one of his happiest efforts. 

Our present minister to France, Mr. Cass, has said 
with his usual discrimination, that "the character oj 
Tecumseh, in whatever light it may be viewed, mus 
be regarded as remarkable in the highest degree. Tha 
he proved himself worthy of his rank as a general offi 
cer in the army of his Britannic majesty, or even of hi 
reputation as a great warrior among all the Indians o; 
the north-west, is, indeed, a small title to distinction 
Bravery is a savage virtue, and the Shawanoes are ; 
brave people : too many of the American nation hav( 
ascertained this fact by experience. His oratory speak 
more for hit genius. It was the utterance of a grea 
mind roused by the strongest motives of which humai 

* On the authority of the Rev. Wm. H. Raper. 



LIFE OF TJECUMSEH. V^ 229 

nature is susceptible; and developing a power and a la- 
bor of reason, which commanded the admiration of the 
civilized, as justly as the confidence and pride of the 
savage." There was one subject, far better calculated 
than all others, to call forth his intellectual energies, 
and exhibit the pecuhar fascination of his oratory. 
" When he spoke to his brethren on the glorious theme 
that animated all his actions, his fine countenance light- 
ed up, his firm and erect frame swelled with deep emo- 
tion, which his own stern dignity could scarcely re- 
press ; every feature and gesture had its meaning, and 
language flowed tumultuously and swiftly, from the 
fountains of his soul.'' 

Another writer, Judge Hall, long resident in the west, 
and devoted to the study of aboriginal history, has thus 
summed up the character of this chief : 

" At this period the celebrated Tecumseh appeared 
upon the scene. He was called the Napoleon of the 
west ; and so far as that title was deserved by splen- 
did genius, unwavering courage, untiring perseverance, 
boldness of conception and promptitude of action, it was 
fairly bestowed upon this accomplished savage. He 
rose from obscurity to the command of a tribe to which 
he was alien by birth. He was, by turns, the orator, 
the warrior and the politician ; and in each of these ca- 
pacities, towered above all with whom he came in con- 
tact. As is often the case with great minds, one master 
passion filled his heart, prompted all his designs, and 
gave to his life its character. This was hatred to the 
whites, and, like Hannibal, he had sworn that it should 
be perpetual. He entertained the same vast project of 
uniting the scattered tribes of the west into one grand 
confederacy, which had been acted on by King Philip 
and Little Turtle. He wished to extinguish all dis- 
tinctions of tribe and language, to bury all feuds, and 
to combine the power and the prejudices of all, in de- 
fence of the rights and possessions of the whole, as the 
aboriginal occupants of the country." 

It may be truly said, that what Hannibal was to the 
Romans, Tecumseh became to the people of the United 
States. From his boyhood to the hour when he fell, 
nobly battling for the rights of his people, he fostered 

U 



230 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

an invincible hatred to the whites. On one occasion, 
he was heard to declare, that he could not look upon 
the face of a white man, without feeling the flesh crawl 
upon his bones. This hatred was not confined, how- 
ever, to the Americans. Circumstances made him the 
ally of the British, and induced him to fight under their 
standard, but he neither loved nor respected them. He 
well understood their policy; they could not deceive 
his sagacious mind ; he knew that their professions of 
regard for the Indians were hollow, and that when in- 
stigating him and his people to hostilities against the 
United States, the agents of Britain had far less anxiety 
about the rights of the Indians, than the injuries which, 
through their instrumentality, might be inflicted upon 
the rising republic. This feeling towards the whites, 
and especially to the people of the United States, had a 
deeper foundation than mere prejudice or self-interest. 
Tecumseh was a patriot, and his love of country made 
him a statesman and a warrior. He saw his race driv- 
en from their native land, and scattered like withered 
leaves in an autumnal blast ; he beheld their morals 
debased, their independence destroyed, their means of 
subsistence cut ofl", new and strange customs introdu- 
ced, diseases multiphed, ruin and desolation around and 
among them ; he looked for the cause of these evils and 
believed he had found it in the flood of white immigra- 
tion which, having surmounted the towering Alleghe- 
nies, was spreading itself over the hunting grounds 
of Kentucky, and along the banks of the Scioto, the 
Miami and the Wabash, whose waters, from time im- 
memorial, had reflected the smoke of the rude but 
populous villages of his ancestors. As a statesman, 
he studied the subject, and, having satisfied himselj 
that justice was on the side of his countrymen, he 
tasked the powers of his expansive mind, to find a re- 
medy for the mighty evil which threatened their total 
extermination. 

The original, natural right of the Indians to the oc- 
cupancy and possession of their lands, has been recog- 
nized by the laws of congress, and solemnly sanctioned 
by the highest judicial tribunal of the United States. 
On this principle, there is no disagreement between ow 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 231 

government and the Indian nations by whom tliis coun- 
try was originally inhabited.* 

In the acquisition of these lands, however, our go- 
vernment has held that its title was perfect when it had 
purchased of the tribe in actual possession. It seems, 
indeed, to have gone further and admitted, that a tribe 
might acquire lands by conquest which it did not occu- 
py, as in the case of the Iroquois, and sell the same to 
us ; and, that the title thus acquired, would be valid. 
Thus we have recognized the principles of internation- 
al law as operative between the Indians and us on this 
particular point, while on some others, as in not allow- 
ing them to sell to individuals, and giving them tracts 
used as hunting grounds by other tribes beyond the 
Mississippi, we have treated them as savage hordes, 
not sufficiently advanced in civilization to be admitted 
into the family of nations. Our claim to forbid their 
selling to individuals, and our guarantying to tribes 
who would not sell to us in our corporate capacity, por- 
tions of country occupied as hunting grounds, by more 
distant tribes, can only be based on the right of disco- 
very, taken in connection with a right conferred by our 
superior civilization ; and seems never in fact to have 
been fully acknowledged by them. It was not, at 
least, admitted by Tecumseh. His doctrine seems to 
have been that we acquired no rights over the Indians 
or their country either by discovery or superior civili- 
zation; and that the possession and jurisdiction can 
only be obtained by conquest or negociation. In re- 
gard to the latter, he held that purchase from a single 
tribe, although at the time sojourners on the lands sold, 
was not valid as it respected other tribes. That no 
particular portion of the country belonged to the tribe 
then within its limits — though in reference to other 
tribes, its title was perfect ; that is, possession exclud- 
ed other tribes, and would exclude them forever ; but 
did not confer on the tribe having it, the right to sell 
the soil to us ; for that was the common property of all 
the tribes who were near enough to occupy or hunt 
upon it, in the event of its being at any time vacated, 

♦ 6 Wheaton's Reports, 515. 



232 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

and could only be vacated by the consent of the whole. 
As a conclusion from these premises, he insisted that 
certain sales made in the west were invalid, and pro- 
tested against new ones on any other than his ov/n 
principles. 

It must be acknowledged that these views have 
much plausibility, not to grant to them any higher me- 
rit. If the Indians had been in a nomadic instead of a 
hunter state, and in summer had driven their flocks to 
the Allegheny mountains — in winter to the banks of 
the Wabash and Tennessee rivers, it could scarcely be 
denied that each tribe would have had an interest in 
the whole region between, and as much right as any 
other tribe to be heard on a question of sale. The In- 
dians were not shepherds, wandering with their flocks 
of sheep and cattle in quest of new pastures, but hunt- 
ers, roaming after deer and bison, and changing their 
location, as the pursuit from year to year, or from age 
to age, might require. We do not perceive a difference 
in principle in the two cases ; and while we admit the 
difficulty of acquiring their territory on the plan of 
Tecumseh, we feel bound also to admit, that as far as 
its preservation to themselves was concerned, his was 
the only effective method. 

In its support he displayed in council the sound and 
logical eloquence for which he was distinguished — in 
war the prowess which raised him into the highest rank 
of Indian heroes. 

At what period of his life he first resolved upon 
making an effort to stop the progress of the whites 
west of the mountains, is not certainly known. It was 
probably several years anterior to the open avowal of 
his plan of union, which occurred in 1805 or '6. The 
work before him was herculean in character, and beset 
with difficulties on every side ; but these only quicken- 
ed into more tireless activity his genius and his patriotic 
resolution. To unite the tribes as he proposed, preju- 
dices must be overcome, their original manners and 
customs re-established, the use of ardent spirits utterly 
abandoned, and finally, all intercourse with the whites 
cut off". Here was a field for the display of the highest 
moral and intellectual powers. He had already gained 



LIFE OP TECUMSEH. 233 

the reputation of a brave and sagacious warrior, a cool 
headed, upright and wise counsellor. He was neither 
a war nor a peace chief, and yet he wielded the power 
and influence of both. The time had now arrived for 
action. To win savage attention, some bold and strik- 
ing movement was necessary. He imparted his plan 
to his brother, a smart, cunning and pliable fellow, who 
adroitly and quickly prepared himself for the part he 
was appointed to play, in this great drama of savage life. 
Tecumseh well understood, that excessive superstition 
is every where a prominent trait in the Indian charac- 
ter, and readily availed himself of it. Suddenly, his 
brother begins to dream dreams, and see visions, he is 
an inspired Prophet, favored with a divine commission 
from the Great Spirit; the power of life and death is 
placed in his hands ; he is the appointed agent for pre- 
serving the property and lands of the Indians, and for re- 
storing them to their original, happy condition. He com- 
mences his sacred work ; the public mind is aroused ; un- 
belief gradually gives way ; credulity and wild fanati- 
cism begin to spread in circles, widening and deepening 
until the fame of the Prophet, and the divine character 
of his mission, have reached the frozen shores of the 
lakes, and overrun the broad plains which stretch far 
beyond the Mississippi. Pilgrims from remote tribes, 
seek, with fear and trembling, the head-quarters of the 
mighty Prophet. Proselytes are multiplied, and his fol- 
lowers increase in rmmber. Even Tecumseh becomes 
a believer, and, seizing upon the golden opportunity, he 
mingles with the pilgrims, wins them by his address, 
and, on their return, sends a knowledge of his plan of 
concert and union to the most distant tribes. And now 
commenced those bodily and mental labors of Tecum- 
seh, which were never intermitted for the space of five 
years. During the whole of this period, we have seen 
that his life was one of ceaseless activity. He traveled, 
he argued, he commanded : to-day, his persuasive voice 
was listened to by the Wyandots, on the plains of San- 
dusky — to-morrow, his commands were issued on the 
banks of the Wabash — anon, he was paddling his bark 
canoe across the Mississippi ; now, boldly confronting 
the governor of Indiana territory in the council-house 

u 2 



234 LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 

at Vincennes, and now carrying his banner of union 
among the Creeks and Cherokees of the south. He was 
neither intoxicated by success, nor discouraged by fail- 
ure ; and, but for the desperate conflict at Tippecanoe, 
would have established the most formidable and extend- 
ed combination of Indians, that has ever been witness- 
ed on this continent. That he could have been success- 
ful in arresting the progress of the whites, or in making 
the Ohio river the boundary between them and the In- 
dians of the north-west, even if that battle had not been 
fought, is not to be supposed. The ultimate failure of 
his plan was inevitable from the circumstances of the 
case. The wonder is not that he did not succeed, but 
that he was enabled to accomplish so much. His genius 
should neither be tested by the magnitude of his scheme, 
nor the failure in its execution, but by the extraordinary 
success that crowned his patriotic labors. These labors 
were suddenly terminated in the hour when the pros- 
pect of perfecting the grand confederacy was brightest. 
By the battle of Tippecanoe — fought in violation of his 
positive commands and during his absence to the south, 
— the great object of his ambition was frustrated, the 
golden bowl was broken at the fountain ; that ardent 
enthusiasm which for years had sustained him, in the 
hour of peril and privation, was extinguished. His ef- 
forts were paralyzed, but not his hostility to the United 
States. He joined the standard of their enemy, and 
fought beneath it with his wonted skill and heroism. 
At length the contest on the Thames was at hand. In- 
dignant at the want of courage or military skill, which 
prompted the commander of the British forces to shrink 
from meeting the American army on the shore of lake 
Erie, he sternly refused to retreat beyond the Moravian 
towns. There, at the head of his warriors, he took his 
stand, resolved, as he solemnly declared, to be victo- 
rious, or leave his body upon the field of battle, a prey 
to the wolf and the vulture. The result has been told. 
The Thames is consecrated forever, by the bones of the 
illustrious Shawanoe statesman, warrior and patriot, 
which repose upon its bank. 

In whatever aspect the genius and character of Te- 
cumseh may be viewed, they present the evidence of 



LIFE OF TECUMSEH. 235 

his having been a remarkable man ; and, to rei)eat the 
language of a distinguished statesman and general, who 
knew him long and intimately, who has often met him 
in the council and on the field of battle, we may ven- 
ture to pronounce him, one of those micommon geni- 
uses which spring up occasionally to produce revolu- 
tions, and overturn the established order of things ; and, 
who, but for the power of the United States, would, 
perhaps, have been the founder of an empire which 
would have rivalled that of Mexico or Peru. 



THE END. 



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